


Star Wars: Master and Apprentice

by Captain_Kiri_Storm



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, But he has a nice ass, F/M, For a Friend, He's thirty six she's twenty six, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, It's like ten years though, Master/Apprentice, Maul is out of his depth here, OF COURSE the clone gets tortured, Shadow Knights - Freeform, Shadows Knights do horrible things, Slow Burn, Swift is an ass, Why would a Shadow Knight want a Sith Amulet? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 14:07:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 29,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6707359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Kiri_Storm/pseuds/Captain_Kiri_Storm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Darth Maul Alternate Universe Novel</p><p>WARNING *Slow updates!!!*</p><p>Skyler Yeager is a street rat on a space station.<br/>Darth Maul is an exiled Sith Lord who's in it up to his horns with the Shadow Knights.</p><p>When Darth Maul took an apprentice, he never intended to get attached. Skyler was supposed to help him out if need be. Help clean up after a hard battle. But never cause him to fall in love. The first time that happened, Maul lose those he cared about.<br/>He's been burned enough, thank you very much.<br/>But now Maul has a bigger problem. He's after the Sith Amulet of Kaan. The crazy Shadow Knight Hyde wants it, too. Why a madman wants an Amulet is beyond Maul, but the race is on! The first one to decode all seven crystals is the one who wins the prize.<br/>With the Shadow Master pressing on Hyde's tail, the man has an even greater cause to get any source of power he can find.<br/>And if Hyde can't have an amulet, he'll take Sith's blood instead</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. (Mis)Fortune

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going this for a friend and updates will be slow

The sharp tang of grease was a smell Skyler Yeager knew all too well.

As far as Skyler knew, she had been born on this floating rat heap. The Station, as the locals called it, was the local hub for all things pirate. Everyone came here. Sith, Jedi, rogue Shadow Knights, Grey Jedi, even a white haired Sith'arii. Along with the pirates, slavers, rogues, smugglers, and scavengers, of course. A young human stray wasn't much of a prize. Not like a rogue clone (though they were usually very well armed and Skyler felt an odd sort of kinship with them) or a young Zabrak fresh off of Dathomir. Preferably a young male. _Those_ were the prizes most slavers sought.

Skyler crouched in the shadows, her back against the cold, cold steel of the Station. Her eyes weren't closed, they were open. Watching the crowd of people and rogues, looking for a good prize. A quick job, nothing more. Get in, grab something, get out.

A tall, red Zabrak wearing tattered robes caught her eye. He moved with a little bit of a limp, Skyler saw, and blood crusted a broken spot in his skull. But it was the metal cylinder on his belt that caught her eye.

That cylinder looked pretty valuable.

Skyler slipped into the crowd, already planning out what she was going to do with her credits when she got them. Maybe get a blaster, if the thing was worth enough. Definitely old Imperial ration packs. Not that Skyler liked them, but she knew they kept good. Stormtrooper rations were made to do one thing: keep. And that they did. They might not taste as good as plant protein blocks (those had flavors!) but they would keep you full.

The crowd parted around the Zabrak like fish in a shoal. His eyes, Skyler noticed, were gold. Cold, almost. Like the eyes of a predator. He even _moved_ like one, despite his limp.

That should have been her first clue that something was odd about this Zabrak.

Skyler slid up beside him. The Zabrak paid her no mind...or so she thought. His gaze was focused on something else. What she did know, though, was that he was ignoring the girl beside him. And why would he? Skyler was just another orphan created by the Clone Wars. Not someone like that Zabrak.

She lifted the cylinder from its clasp. It was cool, heavy in her hands. Just holding it gave Skyler a feeling of power. Skyler tucked the item in her old knapsack before scurrying away. Once again, her little mantra of "don't look at me, don't look at me" seemed to have paid off. The Zabrak hadn't noticed her. Hadn't even glanced her way. Skyler wondered if she had a special talent like her mother had.

But that was years and years ago, before the rise of the Empire.

A hand gripped her shoulder.

Skyler stopped dead. She whipped around, heart fluttering rapidly. Three men, all pirate-scruffy, stared back. She noted the three lit saberstaffs, all at the ready.

"Good work, kid," the leader dryly said. "Hand it over."

"I stole it fair and square!" Skyler protested. "Get your own!"

The leader sighed dramatically. "Why should I face death by Sith, little girl?"

"Because you're stupid." Skyler took off running. She didn't care where she was going, just away from them! The leader yelled and the Knights took off after her. Her bare feet pounded the nasty metal as she took off towards the derelict portions of the ship. She had too--to get away from them! Far away from the rogue Shadow Knights!

She ran into a wall of solid muscle.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking, stealing from a Sith?" Taloned hands raised her chin. Skyler swore. It was the red Zabrak from the docks! Fury rippled off of him in waves.

Fury spiked in Skyler and manifested in a flash of lightning that buried itself  in the red's skin. He yelped and dropped her.

The pounding boots jerked Skyler from her stunned reverie. She ducked past the red and ran for her hiding spot. Not that it would really help her...

The red matched pace with her easily. "Do you know what you've done?"

"Pissed off a Shadow Knight?" Skyler suggested. She took a flying leap and grabbed the bottom of a ladder. With a burst of strength she didn't know she had, Skyler yanked herself up and started to climb.

"And you angered a Sith!" the male yelled from somewhere below.

"Tough!" Skyler darted inside the abandoned apartment complex. Well, not really abandoned. Skyler lived her. With a pounding heart, she took the cylinder from her knapsack. And then her thumb found a stud.

Twin blades of crimson light flared to life in her hands.

Skyler's jaw dropped. "What...is this?"

"Extremely dangerous."

She jumped. The red saluted her.

"Determined little thing, aren't you?" he continued. Maybe it was her imagination, but a few shred of kindness shone in his golden eyes. "There are those who would kill for that saberstaff."

"I know. We just met." Skyler tried to keep her voice nonchalant. She considered backing up, but she wasn't sure what that red would do.

"I need my blade back," the red rumbled. " _Now_."

"No." Skyler set her jaw. The red blade warmed her hands, giving her a sense of power. A power Shadow Knights tasted ever day. "It's mine now!"

"I've survived too much to allow some gutterdog  to steal my saberstaff!" the red snapped. He lunged at Skyler. She swung the blade instinctively, landing a glancing blow on his shoulder. The red howled in pain. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air.  Skyler backed up, her feet skirting the edges of a wide hole. The red snarled and light gleamed in his golden eyes.

Did she take her chances with the Sith or the Shadow Knights?

"Only a Force-user could handle that blade without killing herself," the red slowly said. He put a hand over the cauterized wound. Skyler winced to see the gash. She forced herself to move slowly. This red meant to kill her. And probably could, just with a look.

"So?" Skyler retorted. "What's it to you?"

"Everything. I lost my first apprentice."

"Didja look behind your couch?" Skyler offered. The one burning instinct she had was to ** _get out of_** **_here_**. Away from the red, away from the Shadow Knights.

"Do you like living like this?" the red gestured to the filthy surroundings. To the holes in the walls and the floor. To the rat crouched in a corner. To the swaths of spider webs hanging from the ceiling. To Skyler's meager supply of food. "Selling that saberstaff won't get you far. And believe me...Hyde and his buddies don't play nice. There was a reason why he was exiled."

"Oh?" Skyler sounded braver than she felt.

"He tried to kill the Shadow Master in an ambush. Course, that's cantina talk, so take it with a grain of salt. Now. My saberstaff?"

Skyler felt the command behind his words. She managed to fight it, though, with her force of will. " _No_! Go kriff yourself!"

The red crossed the room in two strides. Skyler swung the lightsaber up, fully prepared to kill the red. He stopped short, though, his eyes locked with hers.

"Are you going to use that on me?" the red slowly asked.

"If you come any closer, yes!" Skyler snapped. She tried to school her features into cool indifference. Would she kill the Zabrak? Maybe. If she had too. If the Zabrak forced her hand. But there was something in his eyes that made her stop.

"You sound like the fierce, bad kitten," the red drawled.

"My name is Skyler. Skyler Yeager." She lowered the saberstaff.

The Zabrak nodded. "And my name is Darth Maul."


	2. After the Crystal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul and Skyler have to fight the Shadow Knights...AGAIN

**Sixteen Years Later...**

 

**Sith Temple, Unknown Far Rim Planet**

**Time Unknown**

At least his apprentice had (somewhat) learned how to school her features.

Maul almost casually watched his old enemy, trying to gauge Hyde's reactions. The rogue Shadow Knight was fully bat shit crazy. Maul and Hyde had literally been fighting for twenty years now. It was an epic game of cat and mouse that crossed the galaxy. Sometimes Maul was the cat and sometimes Maul was the mouse. And then there was Mitch. Hyde's right hand, who sometimes moonlighted as a bounty hunter for the Empire. He was good at what he did--too good. Too good for Maul's comfort, really. There was a hefty bounty on the head of every non-Imperial Force user. Two in one go, Master and apprentice, would make Hyde a rich man.

Mitch paced in front of Maul and Skyler. His dark eyes were crazed and Skyler looked like she was trying to figure out how to drop the ceiling on him. "Now, boys," Mitch drawled. "what do we do to intruders?"

"We kills 'em!" one of the younger louts yelled. Maul focused on that one, wrapping his neck with tendrils of the Force. The man feel to his knees, grabbing at his throat. Maul just bore down harder. The man was twitching, jerking, clawing at the bonds. Maul focused on that man's life force and destroyed it.

Mitch roared. He slapped Maul across the face, sending the Zabrak backwards. Maul surged up and yanked his lightsaber from the hands of the gangster holding it. Saberstaff, really. Beside him, Skyler launched into a spinning kick. She sliced one man in two before blocking a series of blaster bolts. Maul's mind left his apprentice. If she couldn't defend herself against a pack of rogues, she deserved the wounds that came with it.

Still, Maul felt more than a little fear for his apprentice's safety. He tried to write it off as mere irritation at the possibility of losing valuable time spent training _any_ disciple of the Dark Arts, but it didn't feel quite right.

The blaster bolt buried deep in Maul's shoulder. He almost folded, but the red forced himself to his feet. He'd been injured worse, after all. There was nothing that Mitch could do to him that his Master hadn't already done. There were very few things that even a Sith held dear. A few things that even his Master wouldn't take from him. One of those had been Maul's innocence. Master Sidious had lost out to a Shadow Knight on that front.

Mitch came running at him like a bull rancor. Maul side-stepped him. He spun on his heels and caught the man down the side. Mitch roared in pain. He Force-slammed Maul in a _very_ sensitive place. Maul roared as he surged up. Mitch went flying backwards. The Shadow Knight leapt up. His saberstaff lunged straight for Skyler's side.

Maul screamed and caught the blade with the Force. Skyler turned on her heels just in time. Maul knew that he shouldn't care if his apprentice lived or died. He shouldn't care because his Master had never cared about him. But Maul, despite all that he tried, couldn't keep himself from caring. As Master Sidious had said, the red Zabrak simply had too much Light in him. It came from having Jedi scum as a father. Though Maul wouldn't mind meeting his father and giving the man a piece of his mind for just leaving him.

Skyler deflected a blow. She jumped aside and slashed two Knights. Maul had picked this Temple in an effort to try and find the Amulet of Kaan. Mitch wanted the same thing, which begged the question of why a Shadow Knight wanted Sith relics. It also lead to the current fight.

_Why a Shadow Knights wants something Sith is beyond me! Crazy **bastard**!_

He spotted the crystal they needed, so far above in the cracking ceiling. Maul held one taloned hand up and called it to him. Mitch roared a curse word. He threw Maul into the wall with the Force. Jagged rocks tore great gashes in Maul's back and the pain made him gasp. He groaned and stuffed the crystal down his boot. Maul touched the bloody wounds. His mind was clouded with pain, but he was still in it enough to toss a marauding rouge Knight across the room. He looked up, just in time to see an angry Mitch throw a bolt of lightning.

Maul couldn't help himself. He screamed as the lightning struck his body. He arched upwards, the horrifying sound filling the entire cavern. He **_would not_ ** break! He hadn't broken when Dooku tortured him and flayed his mind wide open. He wouldn't break with this Shadow Knight torturing him!

Skyler screamed in rage. She slashed a Knight hard. He fell to his knees, saberstaff embedded in his ribs. The dead man fell with a _thump_. Skyler's eyes were Sith yellow as she yanked the staff from the man's dead body. Fury seemed to swirl around her. Maul smiled through blood soaked lips. Yes...he had taught her well.

"Good..." Maul managed to croak. He rolled himself over, wincing from cracked ribs. He spat out a mouthful of blood. "Hone your rage, my apprentice."

He only wished it hadn't taken a madman torturing him for Skyler to fully embrace the Dark Side.

Skyler launched into one of the few remaining katas he'd taught her. She severed that Knight at the waist. Mitch raced at her. She met his saberstaff with a clash. Skyler launched at him like a nexu, driving the man backwards. Mitch snarled his anger. He slashed at her, drawing blood. Skyler shook her head and went right back at him.

"Mitch! We can't find the crystal!" a Knight yelled.

That was because said crystal was down Maul's boot. Wedged painfully between his ankle and the leather.

Maybe getting his legs cloned wasn't the brightest idea Maul had ever had. His droid-legs had a very handy storage compartment accessible only by _him_.

These legs _hurt_ from being thrown into two walls in as many minutes.

"Dammit!" Mitch knocked Skyler into a wall, proving that he had been just holding back. He leered at the injured Zabrak. "Looks like someone got here first, then. Better luck next time, Zabrak." And then he used the Force to do a _very_ painful thing to the Zabrak's hindquarters. Maul hunched over, his eyes glassy from _that_ happening again. He watched, weakly, as Mitch and crew sauntered off. Why was there any point in going after a defeated enemy. Maul had the crystal.

Warm, welcoming darkness surrounded the bleeding Zabrak and pulled him into unconsciousness.


	3. I'll Take Care of You

Skyler woke first.

She picked herself up slowly, trying to rub out the pains in her side. That fight had been a _nasty_ one. Skyler looked over and saw her Master laying in a heap. Skyler stood on shaky legs and managed to stagger over to him. Maul was unconscious. His breathing was low, even. Skyler managed to gather him with the Force. Carrying an injured man wasn't the best idea, but they couldn't stay in the Temple for long. What if Mitch came back? What if he brought Hyde? Skyler knew Hyde would torture both of them just to hear the screams.

It was only Maul's breath on her cheek that told her he was still alive.

The rocks had sliced Maul better than Mitch had. Skyler got him to the _Scimitar_ as fast as she could. Even with the Force, though, Maul was still heavy. She was _straining_ to get him to the refresher. Skyler tried to be as clinical as possible with him. Not that no one would truly mind seeing what was in a Zabrak's pants...

Maul moaned a little as she peeled the tattered vest off of him. Skyler kept the bath water lukewarm as not to scald him. His skin was far more sensitive than hers was. Up close, Maul's gashes looked worse. And she was willing to bet that he had a few cracked ribs. Skyler grabbed the anti-bacterial soap with the Force. She washed out his wounds quickly, enjoying the way he arched into her touch. It would help that Skyler had dosed him with a localized pain killer. Healing wasn't a common Sith talent. Maul could manage it, but Skyler couldn't.

He was actually conscious when she bandaged his wounds. "Skyler...?"

"You'll be fine, Master," Skyler said. She bound up the gashes on his back. "You have some nasty wounds."

Maul moved as if to cover himself with his hands. That struck Skyler as odd. Most Sith were borderline exhibitionists. "I can feel it."

She tossed him the roll of bandages. "See if you can get some of them."

"Get me my trousers, a vest, my saberstaff, and my rum," Maul ordered. Then he thought. "No, rum first." _That_ sounded like the Master Skyler knew. Despite the injuries he had received... "Next time, ask before you do something like this, okay?"

Skyler often wondered about the man's past. "You were unconscious and those injuries looked bad."

"Just go," Maul managed. "But first..." He gestured to the gashes on his lower back. "I'm going to need a little help." The red sighed and managed to stand up. Skyler could tell he was using the Force. Skyler got the bandage pads and a can of wound-spray. Maul gritted his teeth as she cleaned out and bound the injury. He was clearly in pain, but he was taking it like a Sith. Skyler tried to tell herself that she didn't enjoy the way he smelled. Maybe...

"Don't think like that," Maul sighed. "Are you done yet?"

"Nearly." Skyler finished the last pad. "Done."

"Good. I'd like my rum, then my clothes. And my weapon. I hope you were careful with my boots because that's where the damn crystal went."

Skyler's jaw dropped. "You got it?"

"Yes." Maul closed his eyes. "Why aren't you getting the things I asked you too?! I'm getting cold here! And my species does not take the cold very well!"

Skyler stifled her smile and moved off. Getting Maul his rum might be a good idea. Clothing, too. Zabraks tended to be shy about their bodies. Maul would also need food, as he'd be hungry. Skyler found Maul's flsak first. She passed it to him whilst averting her eyes. Maul downed it as fast as he could. That was followed by the clothing she'd grabbed from his dresser.

Being a Sith apprentice had been an experience. Maul was a firm, but just, Master. What snippets Skyler had gotten of his past (coupled with a few HoloNet searches) had resulted in a picture of a man sired by Jedi and forced to be a Sith. A man who hadn't wanted to be evil and wasn't. Maul, though, was no Jedi.

Skyler heated up the soup Maul had made a few days ago. His cooking left a lot to be desired. Skyler spiced it up with fish sauce and cayenne pepper. She liked spicy food.

Maul stumbled into the galley. "You made food?"

"See... I can be a responsible person!" Skyler said. "Can I have a cat now?"

"No." Maul got himself a bowl of soup.

"But you had a cat!" she protested.

"Which got eaten by a hell-hound."

Skyler looked around. "Do you see an Akk-dog? Because I sure don't! One kitten? Please...? I promise I'll take care of it!"

Maul rolled his eyes. And then he must have found a lump of cayenne because... "Yeager! What the _hell_ did you _put_ in this?"

"Cayenne pepper, mostly." Skyler ate hers across from him. Maul sighed and stood up wearily. Skyler winced as she saw his pain. He'd been hurt pretty bad. That fight hadn't been an easy one.

Maul dropped a single data-crystal on the table. "We got it, Skyler. One of seven."

She took it reverently. The thing was tiny, only the size of her thumbnail, yet it held the series of traps and puzzles that lead to a powerful Amulet. "This...holds directions?"

The red took it back. "Aye. I'm not sure how to get them out, though. I'll try to interface it with my comm. If not, I'll be meditating on the damn thing tomorrow."

Skyler shivered. "I hope it doesn't contain any nasties."

Maul laughed mirthlessly. "This thing is Sith, Skyler. Of _course_ it does."

Skyler wondered why he looked a little ashen.

"Master--"

"Save it, Yeager," Maul wearily said. He got up. "You need some sleep."

She numbly gave the crystal back to her Master. He took it and and his leave. Maybe she shouldn't have tried to fix his wounds. Something had happened to Maul. Something _bad_. She only wished she knew what, though.


	4. Burning Embers

Hyde snarled. "He _what_?!"

Mitch took a slug from his flask. He would need it to calm his nerves. "The damn Zabrak escaped. With the crystal, might I add."

"I needed that crystal!" Hyde hissed. "We can't subsist on blood forever!" He kicked at the limp form of some hapless clone trooper. The clone was filthy. His arms were covered in old cuts, proving that he was a blood supplier. The man made a mewling noise and crawled backwards, Hyde stepped over the cowering man, an ugly scowl on his face. The clone was _beyond_ useless. His blood contained valuable Sith midi-cholarians, true, but the bastard had no true power. A little bit of blood here and a little bit of blood there (mostly before a battle) gave Hyde and the others a mere shadow of their former power.

Not _nearly_ enough to defeat the Shadow Master, Aelina Storm.

Hyde had his sights set on the galaxy. He'd wanted it ever since his Master had rescued him from the slave pits of Tatooine. Maybe he was biting the hand that freed him, but Aelina had kept him from true power. Power like Snoke could give him. And Hyde would not be taking ** _his_** galaxy on the blood of one clone, though. The exiled Shadow Knight glowered at the clone, making the man pull up his knees and fold in on himself. The clone wasn't worth a tumble, even. Hyde wasn't putting any of himself in a _filthy_ clone. A meat droid from Kamino! That was all the clone was!

"We needed that crystal three years ago," Hyde fumed. He rubbed his forehead, swearing under his breath. Damn that Zabrak! Maul might have been some old has-been, but he was still a vicious fighter. And he'd had one of those damn crystals all along. Hyde flashed back to the dark haired girl Maul had taken as his apprentice. The little bitch didn't know it, but she already had one of the crystals.

It hung around her neck on a piece of twine.

A charm, perhaps. A gift from a Sith parent, maybe? A boyfriend? A gift from her Master? (Hyde shuddered to think of Maul trying to be seductive. He was far too blunt--and far too body shy to _ever_ fall in love.) Or maybe it was just something she'd found? The girl wasn't much concern to Hyde. Finding the Amulet of Kaan _was_. Blood was good for short term power transfusions, but it wasn't permanent. The first time almost killed you. Blood was addictive, too. The most powerful drug Hyde had ever known. The blood also left you drained and weak afterwards. It was like drinking caff on an empty belly.

Hyde glared at the clone. He tossed the man a ration bar and some water and stormed off. Nothing could keep him from his crystals! Nothing! Not Maul, not his damned apprentice, not hell itself, not the galaxy. _Nothing_. Mitch was going to get those crystals for him. That man would die for his Master if Hyde just ordered Mitch to kill himself.

_And if his loyalty ever wavers, I'll kill him. As simple as that._

The exiled Shadow Knight absently touched the place on his cheek where his tattoo had once been. An intricate knot pattern, covering his left cheek. All gone, with only raised scar tissue left in its wake. The same brand like scars were on the faces of all of his Order. His Order...and all of them were exiled Shadow Knights.

All weakened, too. A Knight was nothing without his Order. Hyde's pitiful Order had a little more power behind it, but not much. The Knights of Ren had very little true power left. And Hyde cursed himself for not being more discreet in his attempted killing of Aelina Storm. She was _good_ at fighting. Too good, if you asked Hyde. And she'd severed as much of the Force from the Knights of Ren as she could before she exiled them.

Hyde would have his revenge.


	5. What It Takes

The interface idea hadn't worked. Most Sith technology didn't work well with the normal brand anyways. And it was very likely that Kaan wanted to hide his Amulet _very_ well. It was to be expected, Maul decided. He would have to meditate on the damned thing.

Maul cupped the tiny crystal in one taloned hand. He sat, cross-legged, on his cool metal floor and evened out his breathing. He could do this. He _had_ to do this. Maul closed his eyes and allowed his mind to meld with the crystal's energy.

_He stands in a blood soaked arena, the dead Nautolan lying at his feet. Maul kneels down, searching for the man's weapons. He can feel the others in the command booth watching him, knows his fight has been recorded and sent throughout the galaxy. Maul tells himself not to care. The only reasons why he **would** care are dead. Daleen and Kilindi paid the price for his inability to fight without the Force. Master Sidious knows all and he would do well to remember this._

_A hand rests on his shoulder and Maul tries not to flinch. "You did well...for a Dathomirian."_

_The collar chafes at his tender neck. Dropping to one knee and playing submissive is natural for Maul now. He has come a long way from the angry Jedi's brat given to a powerful Sith Lord. "Master?" Maul asks. "What is thy bidding?"_

_The human laughs. "Come."_

_Maul starts to tremble. "Master? This is not wise."_

_Master Blirr backhands the fifteen year old Zabrak across the face. "You," Bakkari snarls, "have no say in this."_

_Maul turns and follows his Master. Zero's hollow eyes seem to follow Maul as he walks away. His friend had asked to be killed, but Maul knows Zero didn't want this. He never wanted to be a slave. Maul is following his Master's orders to find the Bando Gora and retrieve a nuclear weapon, but Zero was taken from his home as a child. Maul hopes Zero is happy now, for the young Zabrak knows **he** will never be._

_He submits to both his Masters that night...and loses something he will never get back._

Maul came too with a gasp. He looked at his palms, wondering why they were wet. It hit him just a moment later. His palms were sticky with blood because his talons had sliced the leathery skin. _That_ was why he'd been hurting so much. It wasn't because Zero had stabbed him in that battle. It was because Maul had squeezed so hard that blood trickled down his arms and upon the floor. He was breathing hard, Maul noticed, and his eyes were wild. The Zabrak was twenty years older and wiser, however. He'd been abused by his Master after that and cut in two. And Skyler wondered why he had no drive?

_My Master never cared. I can see that now._

There was a blue map shimmering in the air. Maul swallowed his pain and committed it to memory. He also cradled his head because he felt sick inside. It all hurt so much. He got a good comm picture of the map as well. He'd work on it later. Right now, he wanted his rum. And the strong one. He needed to forget.

It would be a good idea to quell his Apprentice's urges, too. Maul's only times had been violent and forced. Sidious hadn't seen it necessary to teach his Apprentice about things of a sexual nature. Maul had been a fearsome fighter, but sheltered. He'd had the urges and the dreams, but he'd never understood what they meant. Maul was still very body-shy.

Maybe it was a Zabrak thing, because the other Apprentices hadn't been as shy as he was.

Maul groaned aloud. How depressing was _that_? He set the crystal in an artifact case and staggered to his feet. A quick glance at his chrono revealed that it was around 0100 Hours. Great...that meant he'd been stuck in memory land for a good half day. And that Skyler was nowhere around and Maul was alone.

Skyler hated him drinking anyways.

Maul yanked a bottle from the cabinet and drank it straight. The liquid carved a fiery trail from his gullet to his belly. It pooled there like a cat made of flames. He kept going until he realized that the bottle was half empty. The red cursed and dropped to the table. His head would _throb_ the next morning. Well... later this morning because it was 0100 Hours.

His head would be killing him and Skyler would be killing him with kindness. And he'd be pretty hungover, too.

Several hours later, he heard Skyler come in. Maul didn't look up. Just slumped at the table.

"You okay?" She sat beside him, blue grey eyes concerned.

"I'm drunk." Maul gave her a long look. "Half tha damn bottle."

"Oh..." Skyler sighed a little. "Why?"

"Damn cryssstal." Maul couldn't get the energy to raise his head. "Ya know, ya should let tha hair down more often." He clumsily parted her long hair. Skyler watched him in confusion. "I like ya a li'l better then."

"You," Skyler muttered, "are drunk."

"Yep." Maul smiled languidly. "Half tha damn bottles doesh that to ya."

"Can I get you to the bed?" Skyler asked. She helped Maul to his feet, supporting most of his weight. Maul brain took that into account and decided that the best course of action was to ralph. All over the floor. Skyler swore and almost dropped him. "Okay! Refresher first, Master!"

Of course, he chose that moment to black out.


	6. The Morning After

True to his predictions, Maul awoke a few hours later with a pounding headache.

There was also the bitter aftertaste of vomit in his mouth. Maul staggered to the refresher and managed to clear his head with a steam bath. He had the feeling that something was up. Maybe it was with Skyler, maybe it wasn't. It might even have had to do with Mitch and Hyde.

If pressed, Maul would admit that he wasn't sure what caused his fight with the Knights of Ren. Other than Hyde was pfassking crazy, of course. Maul was not the type to start a random grudge war. He liked to keep his head attached to his body, thank you very much! But what got him was Mitch's mindless aggression. The man was a lunatic. Hyde, the leader, had actually been the Shadow Master's to-be and in line for the leadership. Maul guessed that Hyde got tired of waiting. That, or the Dark Side took him over. Maul knew how hard it was to use the Dark and not be consumed by it. He had been consumed--and it left him a shell of the man he once was.

Madness and near death taught you to love freedom.

He had to get up and get to work finding the next Temple. Oddly enough, Skyler wasn't averse to this. She considered it "going on an adventure". She seemed to enjoy the entire process. That was what Maul got from it, anyways. If Maul had been her age and had a Master who cared, he thought he would have enjoyed this, too.

Skyler cared too much. If something happened to him, Maul wanted her to be able to go on. He'd have to harden her, even if he didn't know how. While Maul _did_ like the kind touches, it was not becoming for an Apprentice to be enamored with her Master. Force only knew how much Maul _hated_ his. He might not have been encouraging Skyler's affections, but he wasn't discouraging her, either. And it wasn't like Skyler was a child, either. Maul had been a child for his first time. As far as Maul knew, Skyler wasn't...involved...with anyone.

But it wasn't his place to try and press the point.

Maul grabbed a pair of trousers and a nerf-hide vest. His black tattoos were a shame to cover up. The red Zabrak didn't have to wear a shirt, but a vest helped cover the scars on his back. The vest made Maul feel better, too.

The red staggered out of his bedroom and went down to the galley. Skyler was still asleep. He didn't need her pity, so Maul supposed she was glad. Mail could fix his own food and try to sort out his thoughts. Get a little drink, maybe spiked caff, and recuperate. Let Skyler have a cat maybe. Or not. Maul still remembered My Apprentice.

That damn dog _murdered_ her.

Maul settled on a bowl of cereal with bantha milk. He ate in silence, trying to gather his wits. The next Temple was on Ach'to. He supposed that made sense, as no sane Sith would set foot on the Jedi birthplace. There _had_ to be more to that Amulet than just healing!

"A Codex, maybe?" Maul mused. He drank the rest of his milk and stood. Skyler could do the dishes later. They needed to make a stop on Corellia to pick up some supplies. Food, mostly. A few weapons and some kolto kits. Ach'to was said to be a planet of windswept moors and plunging cliffs. The S _cimitar_ wouldn't appreciate the salt spray, either.

Unbidden, his fingers brushed over a plain leather bound book. The Book of Sith. This was one of the texts where Maul had taught himself how to read (the other was a well worn collection of mystery stories). His notes, in sloppy handwriting, had been scrawled in the margins. There was even a place where Maul could look up the meanings of his tattoos. The markings on his skin said "beloved Warrior", not "worthless slave". Sidious had lied.

Skyler had added her own notes in it as well. Maul thumbed through the text. He stopped over the chapter that explained how to make an Amulet. Maul had learned about the Amulet of Kaan from his Master. As well as how to become a demon.

Maul tried to stay in the grey area between Darkness and Light.

Skyler stumbled into the galley. "Morning, Master."

"Good morning, Apprentice," Maul murmured as he accessed his comm. "We stop on Corellia before we head to Ach'to."

The half asleep young woman nodded and dropped on the couch. "Sit with me? I had bad dreams."

Maul sighed and sat beside her. He understood about bad dreams. She nodded off to sleep, pressed against his side.

The red Zabrak rolled his eyes, but didn't move.


	7. Swift

Corellia was mostly city and factory district. Not open planet anymore. Ad with the Empire taking over, the slave trade had flared up again. Big time. Most of the city had a decent sized slave barrio. It was about the best place to find...contraband. Like cloaking parts. Or shielding devices. Though why the Empire wanted a ratty old ship like the _Scimitar_ was beyond Skyler.

Skyler grabbed her knapsack and held it close as she walked. The slave barrio was pretty filthy, but still sparkling clean compared to Coruscant. Skyler walked through the area, trying to find a certain Amayas Sil. Maul had to pay the bills in between hunting for the Amulet, so he ran a smuggling operation. Amayas knew the local smuggling lanes like the back of his hand. The barrio had always been a smuggler haven. As long as the smugglers didn't force the Imps to notice them, most ignored the ratty ships in the docks.

"You can get him!  Alphas are just as weak as a normal clone, you can beat the temper out of them!"

Skyler swore under her breath. She drew her blaster and sauntered up to a familiar pier. A pier in the middle of a city only meant one thing: slaves for sale. Chained up to a post, under full glare of the hot sunlight, was a heavily muscled clone. His hateful hazel eyes swept over the crowd and Skyler took a step backwards. Lank, black hair fell past his shoulders and Skyler could see the raised scars on his back.

The slave blanched when he saw the two arguing Imperial troopers. The Mrlssi selling him smiled smugly.

Skyler bit her bottom lip. An Alpha Trooper. Those were rare, she knew. Very few Alphas had survived, as most were put down on Kamino. Somehow, this one had. And he was for sale. Skyler had credits, too. She just hoped he wasn't FUBAR.

She made one of her famous snap decisions. The kind that either turned out great or exploded in her face. Instead of the cat Skyler had been begging for, she was going to buy a clone. And Maul could stuff it. The sky turned iron grey and seemed to choke her as she approached the pier. The two Imperials were still arguing. Skyler took out a card with a thousand credits on it. The slave spat at her feet and pointedly turned his head as she started talking to the Mrlssi.

_I'm trying to save your fragging life!_

The Alpha's eyes widened and Skyer realized she'd been broadcasting. Whoops.

"A thousand." Skyler took out the card. She waved it in front of the alien's feathered face. "And I'll go away."

The Alpha Trooper licked cracked and bloodied lips. He was too skinny and Skyler dreaded trying to add weight back to his skinny frame. Alpha Troopers ate like Zabraks did.

The Mrlssi smiled and nodded after a moment of thought. "A thousand now or wait 'til the Imps stop arguing and maybe get stiffed. Not hard."

"So you'll take it?" she asked.

"Alphas are hard to manage, human," the Mrlssi sighed. "They culled those brutes for a reason."

"He'd be valuable on my ship," Skyler argued. Maul could handle an Alpha. "We do dangerous work and having a bit of muscle around is a good idea."

And the Alpha had muscle, even if he'd wasted.

"Credits." The Mrlssi looked predatory. "Or get lost."

Skyler handed the alien the card. She may or may not have used mental manipulation on the alien. It was so freaking easy for you to pull that. Add in the fact that she was training under a Sith.... Skyler knew how to use compulsion.

The Alpha wore a shock collar and cuffs. He kept his head bowed as he walked behind Skyler. The remote in Skyler's pocket hung heavy. He was expecting pain, but Skyler ducked into a shop and bought him cookies.

After that, when his eyes met hers, he gave her a shy smile.


	8. Laying in Wait

Ach'to was not a very friendly places towards the Knights of Ren.

Hyde shivered as he walked down the beach. Only a few feet shielded him from the pounding surf. The crystal supposedly hidden on this Force-forsaked rock was _gone_. Perhaps it had never existed, though Kaan had left his mark. And the Jedi Temple, after feeling the Darkness the First Sith Emperor had left, had most vigorously objected to having the Knights of Ren inside. Pitfalls had opened up and sucked twelve Knights to the misty pits below. Yet...very few of the Knights of Ren were exiled Shadow Knights anymore. The exiles, with nothing left to lose, tended to live fast and die hard. Most of the Knights of Ren had been recruited or were former Jedi Padawans.

_Flame Night makes you go mad._

So Hyde did have his power base, but it wasn't nearly enough to defeat Aelina Storm.

Mitch came jogging up behind him. "Sir! Master Hyde!"

"Aye?" Hyde turned, pulling the cloak over his shoulders. He rubbed his aching forearms. It had been a long week on this forsaken planet. Even though the air glinted with diamond dust, Hyde felt the strain of exhaustion. The salt air was making him hungry as well. Hyde could rest inside his _New Dawn_ and eat there. It had been so much work...and all of it for _nothing_.

Was the Ach'to crystal with Yeager? Whatever happened, Hyde was waiting until the Sith touched down. Maybe the crystal would be more...amicable to a Sith's presence.

_Steal the crystal and find the Amulet. Easy._

Maul was a _fool_. The Amulet of Kaan wasn't just a healing device. It held a reserve of raw power. Some thought of the artifact as a Codex or a Nexus. Hyde scoffed at that. He'd seen a Codex up close and personal. Aelina had one and she used it to sever connections with the Force. A Codex was just a negatively charged Force crystal. A Nexus was just a point in nature that made a portal and amplified the Force.

Neither were an Amulet the size of your fist, by the way.

"The Temple spat us out," Mitch reported. "We didn't lose anymore Knights, but there are injuries."

"And our Apprentices?" Hyde asked. "Did they sense anything?"

"There have been no disturbances in the Force, my Master." Mitch bowed his head in respect. The Knight had once been young, but now grey sprinkled his dark hair. The scars on his cheek were sharply defined, more so than the rest. Being a Knight of Ren had damaged him. But Hyde's Knights had no bespelled planets to call home. They had to move--or die.

"I see," Hyde mused. "How deep in the Unknown Regions are we?"

"Deep enough to be lost," Mitch muttered under his breath. He sighed and offered Hyde a thing of caff. The man took it and drank. He was no longer a Shadow Knight. He never was. This, the Master of the Knights of Ren, must have been his true path. "We will get out, Master Ren."

"I trust you, Mitch." Hyde drained the rest of the caff. He turned from the pounding sea, thinking for a few moments. Ach'to was not a good place for the knights of Ren to stay. Tyre was closed to them, thanks to that damn Togruta and her clone toy's little colony of Jedi. The ancient Sith Wards kept intruders out. If Tano and Rex had a lick of sense, they would stay holed up and build their strength. But, then again, the Jedi were never known for being all that smart.

"I know, Master Hyde." And the weight of that trust weighed upon Mitch's shoulders.

Hyde didn't smile. "Do not fail me, Mitch. The younger Knights hunger for your place."

Mitch blanched. "Hyde? Why do you threaten me, your second and your lover?"

"Because the knights of Ren are hampered by Lord Vader," Hyde dryly explained.

"There is always the Rebellion," Mitch shrugged. It was as close to argument as the man got. He groveled at his Master's feet. Hyde liked that--craved it, in fact.

Sith would never submit. They would fight until the last breath. And if they wanted the same prize as the Knights of Ren... Well, they had to go. Maul was playing with the big boys and he should have stayed away.


	9. You Wouldn't Let Me Get a Cat, So...

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?" Maul asked. He gave his Apprentice a long look. He'd come to this cantina on purpose to get a little spiced chicken soup. Not greet Skyler's new slave! The man had the looks to be an ARC trooper and the Zabrak's skin was crawling. The ARC was a little sullen, picking at the biscuits. Lime biscuits, which tasted _amazing_ if you liked limes. And Maul loved limes. He'd eat them straight if the mood hit him.

"They were going to sell him to the Empire!" Skyler insisted. "I couldn't let them!"

"What do you think?" Maul grimly asked. He nodded to the clone. The red ate a little of his soup. Traditional Dathomirian cooking was easy to come by on Corellia. Maul knew what places to frequent, too. It tasted like home to the red. Plus, Skyler liked it.

The ARC shrugged. "My Master was a _mac galla_. So I punched him."

_And got yourself sold. Good job, buddy._

"So they sold you," Maul murmured. He gestured to the plate of fish before the ARC. "You need the food. Eat."

"My name is Swift." Swift wasn't filthy and covered in lice, but he was pretty skinny. He nibbled on the food for a few moments before wolfing it down. Maul winced. The man _was_ hungry.

"Maul." The Zabrak inclined his horned head. "The girl is Skyler, my Apprentice. And I do _not_ tolerate slavery."

_Especially the sexual type._

"Maul!" Skyler yelped. "I was trying to save his life!"

"When you buy a slave like him..." Maul grabbed a biscuit with the Force. Yes, he really was too lazy to ask Swift to pass the basket. The ARC's eyes widened. "Yes, I am a Force-user. So is Skyler Yeager."

"I see," Swift managed. Maul was pretty sure he was the only one of the party that liked eating lime biscuits. "I--"

"It's not your fault," Maul sighed."

_'No, this is **your** fault for not getting me a cat!'_

Skyler just smiled as she swirled her tea. Maul resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Didn't she understand...?

No, Skyler wouldn't. Her Master had cared for her, whilst Maul's _hadn't_. Sidious hadn't given a flying flip about Maul. Maul had only been fifteen when he was sent into the slaver's nest on Corg Hive Seven. And the Blirrs who owned that place...liked young Zabraks. It had hurt and Sidious hadn't cared. Yes, the Sith had trained Maul how to use his mouth (and taken great pleasure from it), but...Maul hadn't taken anyone like _that_ before. Bakkaari had taken something Maul would never get back.

"Am I accepted?" Swift asked, shattering the silence.

"I suppose," the red sighed. He took a few bites and closed his eyes. Bliss. "Skyler, you and Swift will be cleaning the engine bay."

Skyler winced. "A little harsh?"

"Seeing as I am the Master of both of you..." Maul trailed off. He tried to be a good Master. That wasn't always possible, as this situation was _not_ Swift's fault, but Maul needed to make a point. He had no idea what type of training Swift had. The man had the rugged looks to be a pleasure slave. Then again, all clones looked like that.

"We don't have a choice," Swift muttered.

"Yeah, but I'm a Sith Apprentice." Skyler crossed her arms. It was the truth. Maul might not have been a typical Master, but... He did let them both get frozen mangoes from the desert tray. And chocolate waffles. Swift acted like he'd never had sweets before.

"You didn't ask me for permission," Maul retorted.

"Because you would have said no!" Skyler argued. And Maul knew he would have. Getting a clone was a lot worse than getting a dog or a cat. A clone was a person. A cat was an animal.

"Keep that in mind." And Maul let the matter drop.


	10. Lessons

The trip to Ach'to took a long time. And it also took a long time to clean out the engine bay, even _with_ Swift's help.

They worked in a companionable silence. Swift seemed relieved that all they had been ordered to do was clean out the engine bay. And, honestly, it could have gone a whole lot worse. Maul did have a temper. He was a Warrior at heart, just like Skyler was. But Maul was also so much more skilled than she was, too.

That was one of the reasons why he was the Master and she was the Apprentice.

The engine bay was pretty clean as engine bays went. The grease hadn't been built up _too_ badly. Yet. It was still pretty dirty, though, and it would take a few hours to clean up. Swift seemed to enjoy the work. At the very least, he was quiet.

Skyler sang "Ninety Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall".

"Seventy five bottles of beer on the wall! Seventy five bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, Seventy four bottles of beer on the wall!" Skyler could not carry a tune in a five gallon bucket. Sh just sang to make noise. Swift had declined to answer any of her questions. It got a little old at times, too. She liked to talk and the guys didn't.

Maul had competition for the grouch award.

"What is the purpose of that song?" Swift suddenly asked. He grabbed a new rag from the pile, giving her a long look. Grease blackened his face and made his long hair form into knots. He looked pretty bad ass if you asked Skyler. Yet...she still had her feelings (no matter how wrong they were) for Maul. Maybe Skyler just had a thing for red Zabraks. Such relationships had happened before.

"I just like singing it," Skyler shrugged. "Maul taught it to me."

_During a **very** long trip._

The ARC said nothing. Skyler wondered what he'd been through. Even the dumbest person knew that the clones liked to be touched. Some of them stayed in abusive relationships just to be touched by someone. A clone grew up in a sound-proofed, plexi-steel tube. Sterile, white, silent, tight, and locked away from the rest of the galaxy. Treated like machines, not like men. Skyler respected those who made rescuing clones a priority.

"Could you teach me?" Swift softly asked.

Skyler smiled. "You're just counting backwards with a few words thrown in. That's how I learned how to count."

"I...can't count." Swift looked at his feet in shame. "Or read."

"What the _hell_?" Skyler asked. "You can't...?"

"No," Swift bitterly said. "I'm just a meat droid, remember?"

Skyler took his hand, not sure what to say. Maul had taught himself how to read and paid in blood. He, in turn, passed what he considered _extremely_ valuable information on to her. Maul had even taught her as much math as he was able to teach himself. Few universities would take older aliens. So, in turn, Skyler would teach Swift. The ARC looked at her, a little surprised. It was like he could see what she was thinking. Then he shyly relaxed and allowed her to touch him.

"Maul taught me how to read. I'm sure I have the work books still in my room," Skyler assured him.

Swift backed away. "N-n-no, that's fine! I-I-I'm fine! Really!"

"Swift. I'm going to need some help when the Imps insist on filing every form in triplicate," Skyler lied. She gave him a long look. "I think we're done in here, anyways." The engine bay wasn't sparkling, per say, but it was much cleaner. And Swift needed those basic skills. Now Skyler understood why Maul had her practice on blank sheets of white paper, not the actual book. "Go to the galley, okay?"

Swift gaped at her. "You're serious?"

"Yes, you big lump," Skyler smiled. "I'll give you candy at the end." Swift loved Maul's strawberry candies. She could slip the ARC a bag, easy. Maul didn't need them. He was always griping that she needed to eat healthy. Maul could just be a good Master and set the stage for his Apprentice.

The workbooks were stacked neatly in the back of her closet. Skyler grabbed them, along with a stack of computer paper and two pens.

Clones had flash learning. They were _very_ smart. Even though most had no education at all, they picked up things fast. Swift could easily learn how to read. Skyler thought she could teach him. If he was willing to learn, of course. Skyler just had to hope that he was.

Skyler spread out her supplies and turned to page one. It was an old, brightly colored child's work book. Swift, though, acted like the books were made of solid gold. Maybe she didn't need the treats. The learning alone might be enough for him. So she sat down with a clone and began to teach him the very basics of reading and writing.


	11. Jedi Homeworld

Ach'to was the Jedi homeworld. Maul supposed that he shouldn't be shocked that his skin was _crawling_.

The red Zabrak knew only a little about this planet. One: it was mostly water with a few storm swept planets thrown in for good measure. It was the Jedi homeworld and therefore repulsive to Sith. This was the place where humans had first learned to harness the Force. The Light was strong here and Maul could feel it telling him to _get out_. He wondered how Kaan had stood this place. After all...

Kaan had been the first Sith Emperor. He was as Dark as they came. He'd even created a "thought bomb", or Vortex, to destroy his enemies. Then the Damned Traitor, Bane, used the Vortex on Kaan. Bane destroyed Kaan's work and left it to rot.

Skyler followed on Maul's heels. Swift was with her, too. Maul was trying to climb up the weatherbeaten old stone stairs. They were slicked with dew, rain, and debris.  The only sort of guardrail was the wiry moor grass. In the distance, Maul did see a few wild ponies, but they soon scattere. Ach'to was not meant for mortal hands. Maul could feel it in his bones.

The iron grey clouds overhead hid the sun and stars. Only a semi twilight gave light. Maul had better night vision than a human's though, and he was as surefooted as a mountain goat. It helped that his boots had a thick, heavy tread. The humans were lighter and not as lucky.

The ruins slowly came into view. Maul picked up the pace. It stood to reason that this place would have Guardians like the tombs on Korribaan did. Most were just Force ghosts, but others were creatures. Like wolves or nexus. Some could be killed, but others couldn't.

The ruins looked like an old castle. A castle with broken parapets and destroyed stonework. Crasks crawled up the sides. Great chunks of masonry lay in heaps and heavy vines climbed the walls. There had once been glass in the windows, but it had long since shattered. The brasswork on the door was almost corroded to nothing at all.

Maul's danger sense buzzed in the back of his skull.

"Stay close," Maul warned. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Swift nodded. "Same here."

Skyler kept silent. Maul tried to ignore _that_ , too. He just wanted to get this done with. Maul tapped the door with the Force. It swung open with a creak that sent shivers down your spine. Something was off here. Maul **really** didn't like it.

A dead wolf lay upon the tiled floor, its guts spilling from its belly.

"They were already here," Maul muttered. "We need to leave." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Skyler's necklace glowing.

_The hell?_

He was just about to turn tail when sixteen Knights of Ren came from behind the columns.

"Fancy seeing you here," Hyde drawled. Madness gleamed in his hazel eyes. "Seems that you're always one step behind."

"Vulture!" Skyler hissed.

Maul cast her a look the read " _shut up_ ". He stepped backwards, grabbing his saberstaff. "So. Why Ach'to? Not exactly a prime vacation spot."

Hyde shrugged. "Don't you know? Kaan wanted to piss on Yoda's birthplace. So he hijacked the First Temple."

"And left a wolf." Skyler gestured to the beast. Only, it wasn't as dead as Maul and the others had thought. The Knights of Ren watched in horror as the guts slowly traveled back into the beasts' body. The blood split on its fur flowed back into raw, exposed veins. Light returned to the wolf's golden eyes and it stood. When it snarled, the wold sounded like thunder before a storm.

"Kill it!" Hyde yelled. The Knights shifted behind him.

"So...just a question," Skyler announced. Maul swore under his breath. "What's a ren?"

"A ren," Hyde hissed, "is a dragon native to Liria. I hope you meet one and it eats you. Slowly."

The wolf snarled and lunged at a Knight. Maul activated his saberstaff. He whirled on his heels and slashed a Knight in two. Swift drew his blaster and started peppering the air with bolts. The Knight scattered. Maul spun again and parried a blow from Hyde. The Knight's grey saberstaff hissed and crackled as they sparred. Maul knew its crystals were cracked. The thing could blow at any time.

Hyde slashed his shoulders. Maul snarled in pain and sliced Hyde's saberstaff in two. The resulting explosion put a new hole in the floor and sent Maul flying backwards. Maul grabbed lightning from another Knight and sent it flying at Mitch. Hyde did a back flip and landed on a crumbling dais. Maul ripped a balcony off the wall and threw it at him. He buried Hyde in more rubble, knowing full well that he would only make Hyde mad. The red sent his staff in a whirling arc, battering off three attacking Knights.

Skyler brought down a part of the ceiling, crushing two men. The wolf and Swift seemed to be covering each other. The wolf would knock a Knight down and Swift would kill the Knight.

**_Bloody ARCs._ **

"Get out of here!" Maul yelled. He stabbed a seal on the wall and let loose three Force demons. They hissed and twisted in the air.

And that was when a young boy, covered in bloody scratches, came tumbling from the hole in the wall.

Maul stopped to see if the boy was human. He was. So he started running and scooped the boy up in his arms. He could feel the Vortex howling beneath them, pulling at the Force. The demons screamed as they were sucked back in to the Other Place.

Kaan was _smart_. He'd known what he was doing.

_What if Skyler's crystal is the one?_

It was glowing golden as she fought. That had to mean something, didn't it? The boy clung to Maul's shirt and buried his face in the red's shoulders. The big wolf turned and loped along, dragging Swift along behind it. Maul really hoped the beast would fade, but no such luck.

The Force was strong with the boy Maul held. Had he stumbled into the Vortex or had he been placed there? Stranger things had happened in the past. Those who knew the Other Place could use it to Shadow-Walk, though that skill had died with the Sith Purebloods. This boy...was just a human.

Skyler held her necklace. "It's glowing!"

"We'll look at it later!" Maul snapped. "In the ship! Now!" The _Scimitar_ dropped her gangplank. The wolf bounded up first, its fur catching the first rain drops. Swift scrambled up and helped Skyler. The boy in Maul's arms watched the rain and lightning with pure wonder. Lightning forked across the sky and Maul took that as his cue to leave.

He didn't relax until they were in hyperspace.


	12. After

He would never underestimate Kaan again.

The long dead Sith Lord clearly favored that _mac galla_ Maul and his _galla_ Yeager. He'd raised the wold from the dead and held back the demons, just in time to let them attack Hyde and his men. Kaan had even made Yeager's crystal glow and gifted the two with a Skywalker-Solo brat. Why Leia thought it was a good idea to carry children in a war escaped Hyde.

Even the Force-blind kept away from a Vortex.

Three ribs broken, a fractured tibia, and a concussion. That was the extent of his injuries after Maul buried him under a rock wall. It only served to remind Hyde of how desperately his group needed power. So that was why Hyde was here, in this nondescript village on Felucia. A small colony of humans had settled here, keeping the natives away with large dogs. Several children had been born as Force-users.

Hyde's red saberstaff crackled in the air as he surveyed the people. His other Knights kept guard as he searched the captives with the Force. It wasn't just the presence of his brand like scars, it was the black cloak that trailed behind him. Even in the desert heat, Hyde stuck to his uniform of choice.

"You have something that I want," Hude began. "Give it too me and I'll leave. If **not**..." He let the threat trail off.

An older human male approached him. "We came here to get away from the Empire, you Inquisitor! We have a charter!"

Hyde cast his eyes over the plain clothing and the long dresses the women wore. Not an alien in sight, either. "I see. But your gods cannot defeat the Force."

The man flinched as if struck. "Lyssah strike you down!"

"The Shadow Master has been trying for sixteen years," Hyde drawled. With a flick of his wrist, Hyde severed the man's head from his body. The women wailed when his blood soaked the dusty earth.

"Any _other_ objections?" Mitch hissed. His green staff hissed with energy. "I count ten, my Master."

"Good." Hyde pulled Mitch close and brushed a kiss against his cheek. Just to draw a snarl from the crowd. "Take them and those who **question** Lyssah."

The first one Mitch threw Hyde's way was a girl about seventeen years old. Her features closely matched the dead man's and Hyde smiled slowly.

"Girl," Hyde drawled, "what is your name?"

_The Force is strong with this one._

The girl stood up, her blue eyes flashing. "None of your pfassking business!"

Hyde caught her chin easily. "But it is, little one."

She struggled against the Force. "Let. Me. Go!"

" **No**." Hyde pushed her to the ground. "If you will not tell me your name, I'll call you...Jezebell."

The girl hissed at him. "Iris!"

"Iris," Hyde repeated. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

A boy a few years younger than Iris dropped to his knees before Hyde. "I am Kion, my lord."

"You may rise," Hyde languidly said.

"Kion!" Iris hissed. "No!" Hawke and Traevis grabbed her by the scruff and started walking her back to a cargo ship. "They'll kill us!"

"Like I really believe them," Kion murmured. He stood and power burned in his dark eyes. "I will follow you, my Lord."

"The others?" Mitch asked. "There are eight more."

"Iris's kin: Samuel, Poppy, Daisy, Rose, Davvi, Abisha, Jonath, and Violet."

The children followed the call and a mother keened.

Hyde frowned as he looked at them. The dresses, long and formless, would get you killed in battle. Long hair, bound in a braid, would not work. The youngest was but a baby, held by the girl Kion called Abisha. The Force was with all of them, Hyde knew. And they would make the Order stronger.

"I am in need of an Apprentice," Hyde offered.

"My Lord?" Kion yelped.

In response, Hyde slit his palm and watched the scarlet blood drip down. This was a blood-bond, it wouldn't allow Kion to take Hyde's power. "If you wish to train as my Apprentice, **drink**."

Kion obeyed and Hyde gasped from the power he added to the Order.

"Rise, my Apprentice," Hyde murmured. "And join the Knights of Ren." The newly minted Kion Ren took his place at Hyde's side. And as they walked to the cavalcade of ships, Kion never looked back .

None of them did.


	13. A Little Bit of Training

"That's very good... Now see if you can add another rock to the group," the red Zabrak instructed.

Jacen fidgeted on the ground as he obeyed. He wasn't quite sure if he liked these people or not. The big man, Swift, acted all tough and rude, but Jacen knew that he sobbed into his pillow every night. Jacen did like the big wolf, though. Guardian wasn't like Uncle Chewie or Luke, because he couldn't hug, but he was big and warm. Plus, sometimes Jacen swore the wolf could think.

 _Let's not mess with anymore talking rocks_ , Skyler had said. _If your instincts tell you to flee, do it_.

"Stay focused," Maul warned. He had taken Jacen's cross-legged position on the swampy ground, and was watching the wobbling rocks. Uncle Luke had already made Jacen do things like this before. The young boy was good at this trick! Taloned hands rested in his lap and red-gold eyes locked into blue ones. With a soft sigh, Jacen steadied the rocks. This was nothing like training in Daddy's ship, though the boy liked being outside. Here it was peaceful and quiet. And Daddy didn't really like the Force. It scared him. Mama said that Daddy liked being the fastest draw in town.

"Are we done yet?" Jacen whined.

"Respect your elders you should."

The Zabrak yelped a **very** nasty word and grabbed his saberstaff. It was so different from Uncle Luke's lightsaber. A blade of red light flashed to life, met by a similar green one. The creature, also green, watched impassivly.

Jacen dropped his rocks. "Are you a goblin?"

The creature laughed. "Very real, I am. Imaginary creature I am not."

"Very short you are!" Jacen laughed. The tow headed boy smiled. "You make me tall! And Maul's a giant!"

The little alien edged the staff away with his own blade. He was quite old, but he seemed to carry an aura of strength and power about him. Even so, Maul kept his staff at the ready. Jacen settled down to watch. "Put that away you should. Get hurt you will."

Maul growled, but doused his blade. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the alien asked. "Use the Force you must!"

"Can you be anymore vague?" Maul asked. The Force seemed to coil around him, as dangerous as a viper. Jacen watched the green alien to see how he would react to the Zabrak.

"Possible that is." The alien nodded. "Much power you have."

"Thank you, Doctor Obvious. Will you be next telling me that the sky is blue?" Maul snapped. The alien flashed out his cane and popped Maul in the shins. The big Zabrak yelped like a little girl. "Hey! No fair!"

"Respect your elders, you also must," the alien primly said.

"Look, Grandpa, some of us have things to do," Maul retorted. The little alien aimed the stick at him again. Maul jumped out of the way. Jacen laughed. "I need to find a crystal!"

"Not here, it is. Stolen a long time ago it was," the alien sighed. "Six years too late you are."

"Kriff," Maul muttered. " _Not_ what I needed to hear. Who took it?"

The old alien sighed and looked at his three toed feet. Jacen felt sorry for him. He wanted to give the creature a hug, but he stopped before he could do it. The alien was quite powerful and Jacen didn't want to invite hurt on himself. As much as he liked being friendly...

"Took it, the Empire did," the old alien sighed. "The taint of Shadow Travel the boy has."

"We call him Jacen Shadow-Walker," Maul explained. "Jacen Walker for short."

So the Empire had a crystal? Jacen wasn't sure why the Empire wanted a pretty rock.

"Why did they take it?" Jacen blurted.

"Make a lightsaber, they wanted. Burned away the map was," the alien explained.

"Shit," Maul muttered. The alien gave him a long look. Maul gave him one right back. "Whaat?"

"Young ears." Then he whopped Maul again, making him yelp. He also gestured to a gathering storm. "Travel to Koribban, you must. Show you a way your Guardian will."

Did the alien mean the wolf? Swift called him Guardian. Maul called him words that Jacen wasn't allowed to say.

"Okay...as much as I hate it, we'll go there," Maul sighed. He glanced at the jungle, as if trying to look through the trees. Jacen couldn't feel a Temple. He wasn't getting the icky, yucky feeling he had gotten from Ach'to. He wasn't swimming through cold, clammy tar. Here, he felt light and airy. Like a little bird that had been set free.

It was like he could go back to Mama and Daddy. Uncle Luke and Uncle Chewie. And even his sister Jania, though she took his toys.

"On a different path, you are," the old alien softly said. "Understand one day you will."

"Thanks for the tip," Maul softly said. "We'll get the stuff from Koribban."

"Be careful, you must," the alien warned. "Much danger there is."

"I'll bet." Maul turned, looking back at the path they had taken there. "Thanks for the tip, though. I'll show you the Amulet."

"The boy you must look out for. Very strong in the Force he is. Very important to the balance is young Shadow-Walker."

"Will do, but we need to go," Maul replied.

"Never return here, you will," the alien mourned. "May the Force be with you."

"And you." Maul tipped his head and took Jacen by the hand. Was his name **really** Jacen Shadow-Walker? The Walker part was right, but Jacen wasn't sure about the other. He guessed he would understand one day.

But he still shivered when he watched the growing storms.


	14. Korriban

Maul had never been to Korriban and he'd traveled to most of the out of the way places in the galaxy. He'd heard of it, of course, but had never been all that keen on going tomb raiding. Most of what Maul wanted to do was live and not get himself killed. Not go chasing down cursed artifacts on a lost civilization. Because that was what Korriban was. It was the lost Sith homeworld.

_Well, not really lost. I do have the coordinates._

"Kriffing little green goblins," Maul muttered. He wished that he **didn't** have the coordinates to this forsaken place. The trip to Ach'to had been a complete waste of time. Instead of a crystal, they had found the Knights of Ren. In a contest between who scared Maul shitless the most, the Shadow Knights were number two. The Knights of Ren took first prize. "Let's hope Hyde doesn't get the bright idea to go to Dagobah."

Was it too much to ask the fates? Maul just wanted an easy trip and the red was tired of nasty surprises.

"So...Korriban." Skyler stood beside him, drawing her fingers over the worn parchment map. Maul had quite the collection of old maps. They often came in handy. He also drew his own star charts. The red was quite sure he had the most extensive map of the galaxy. "What do I need to know about it?"

"This is where the Sith purebloods of old were buried," Maul replied. His hands waved over the proj option on his comm. A three-dee model came up, showing the planet in sharp relief. "Lots of tombs, lots of cursed treasure, a Shadow Temple. Nothing much."

_Nothing I particularly want to deal with, either._

"Let me guess--someone wanted a powerbase after Ach'to was lost?"

"Pretty much. After Kaan corrupted Ach'to, he was gone for years," Maul explained. "The Order of the Shadow stuck their oversized, greasy noses in our business and made a Temple. Needless to say, there were quite a few battles. The one good thing Bane **ever** did was kick the Shadow Knights out and shut down that Temple." Maul drew his battered, leather-bound Apprentice handbook from his knapsack and tossed it to Skyler. Sidious might have gotten it as a gag gift (if Sidious understood jokes. He might have been trying to taunt Maul), but that little book had good information. It was quite the valuable tool. "The full story is somewhere in here."

"Thanks, Master," Skyler muttered. "Anything _else_ we need?"

"Beskar armor," Maul joked. The stories he'd heard of Korriban weren't encouraging to say the least. "Swift and Jacen are staying on the _Scimitar_. We'll take Guardian."

Skyler patted the giant wolf's head. "Done and dealt with, Master."

"Good." Maul traced the route on the map (he'd stolen it from Mace Windu of all Jedi) and started walking. Where a Jedi got a Sith map was beyond Maul. And Sidious had no idea that Maul tended to ignore other people's security systems. So now Maul had a complete copy of the Sith Archives, too. Minus Lirian held territories, of course. He would respect Aelina Storm (or Azira Malchor. He had no idea who the current Shadow Master was. Maul suspected the Shadow Knights _liked_ it that way) and her need for privacy.

Maul knew he shouldn't like Skyler. He shouldn't be enjoying the way she walked in front of him, or the way she didn't hesitate to snap right back. The red knew he shouldn't care what became of his Apprentice or try to teach her everything he knew. Skyler would kill him one day. Maul shouldn't fret about her as they walked across the planet's treacherous surface. Sidious had never cared about him and Sidious was a proper Sith Lord.

_I'm a damn **fool** , that's what I am!_

As far as Maul knew, he was around thirty six. Skyler was twenty six-twenty sevenish. Both of them had just picked a birthday. It was only fair to have Swift and Jacen do the same, Maul decided. But still...there was a ten year age gap. Maul wasn't so sure where he stood, either. Biologically, Maul was as dominate as they came. But he'd only been fifteen when... **it**...happened. That damn Shadow Knight Bakkari had been in his thirties.

_Life sucks, but you get over it and move on._

The red sighed and looked up. He wanted to relax, but that would get him killed right about now. Maul now had two Apprentices and he had never completed his training. Skyler also wanted something more. Maul wasn't even sure if he knew how to handle it. None of this had ever been mentioned to him. And it wasn't as if Sidious had ever cared.

So why was he feeling this thing? Why did he light up everything Skyler smiled, or feel his eyes drawn towards her? Was it because he still hungered for every pathetic scrap of kindness tossed his way? Was he growing soft now? He'd mourned his brother and now he wanted his Apprentice. His Master would have _beaten_ Maul for that display of weakness.

Maul was confused, plain and simple. He wanted so much more, but was afraid to get it. Yet...it hurt so much, letting Skyler walk on cursed ground beside him. Knowing, full well, that this trip could kill her.


	15. Apprentices

"Again!" Hyde crossed in front of his group of trainees, keen eyes searching out the weak from the strong. Iris, as expected, wasn't doing as well as the others were. She had resisted his teaching from the start. It was a shame, as the girl had no small measure of power. Iris hadn't liked her brutally short hair cut, nor the loose training tunic.

Wearing heavy clothing would get you killed if Shadow Knights were about.

Iris glared at him as she adjusted her stance. "I **hate** you."

"I know." Hyde didn't skip a beat. He was so very used to such things by now. One untrained, if powerful, Force-user against the Ren Master wasn't **that** much of a threat. And Iris should have been grateful, really. Hyde had saved her from a life of hardship and given her the chance to be something great. And how was she repaying him?

With anger and hatred, that was how.

"Biting the hand that feeds you isn't what we call a bright idea," Hyde breezily explained. "This is your family now. Whether they live or die depends largely on you."

Irish flinched as she swiped the training saber. Hyde had no real idea of how she'd been brought up, but he was guessing that it hadn't been all that pleasant. Well, she would have to adjust to this new world. This was her new life and she was to be a Knight of Ren.

"I'd rather die than be a slave to _you_!" Iris snarled. Her blue eyes flashed dangerously as she swiped the blade down at his head. Hyde lunged at her without warning, his red blade parting the air with quick, sure strokes. Iris cursed. She reacted instinctively slashing at him with the fury of a terrified person. Hyde reacted just as quickly. He danced around her, then charged like a bull rancor.

Iris jerked back. She slashed his blade aside and parried a second blow. Her blue eyes seemed alive with determination and fury. Hyde slashed at her head, keeping his body low and quick. She whirled on her heels and stabbed Hyde through the sleeve. Hyde jerked away. He looked at his singed shirt, nodding to his scowling to-be.

Hyde smiled coldly. "You've done better than most, my dear."

Iris went bright red. "I'm **no one's** dear! I was going to be a Jedi and _you took that away from me_! I will **not** follow you!"

"But your father is dead and your mother has little power." The daggers in Hyde's eyes shone as he walked around her. Iris stepped back. She truly was something else. Fearless, even in he face of certain death. Surely she had to realize that Hyde was a deadly fighter?

_I never throw a duel. Not even in training._

The Shadow Master, a Force-user of extreme power (though not as much as a Sith'arii) had been trying to kill him for sixteen years. One thing about Hyde was that he was scrappy. **Very** scrappy.

"Just let me go home," Iris managed. Hyde saw that she was begging.

Hyde gave her one of his crooked smiles. It might have worked, if there wasn't madness gleaming in his yellow eyes. "How about no?"

"What did we **do** to you?!" Iris all but screamed. "Tell me! _I want to go home_!"

"My dear, the Force is all we need," Hyde explained. "You're providing power for my Order to draw upon." He took her chin in his hand, smiling at the fury in those hot blue eyes. "And that power cannot be destroyed. Only damaged by a Vortex."

Which was an extremely painful process and left you wishing you would just die so the pain would stop. Hyde knew that agony all too well. He'd had that...artifact...used on him. Aelina Storm knew what she was doing, Hyde would give her that. She had managed to unite the Order of the Shadow into a semi-cohesive unit. That was no easy feat, either.

Aelina Storm had no Wandering Star, however. No matter how much she might wish to possess one. Storm was just a strong Shadow Master with keen instincts.

"I'll shove your head in a Vortex," Iris muttered. She backed up, the training saber at the ready. To her, this weapon was a life saver. She looked Hyde in the eye as she repeated an old mantra. "These crystals are my life. Without my weapon, I am dead."

"The Force has awakened in you." Hyde acknowledged her with a nod of the head. "You are a Knight of Ren."


	16. Heir of Revan

Skyler didn't like Koribban one bit.

Even though the single star lay heavy in the sky, the temperature on the planet was a good fifty degrees. No life skittered across the surface of the sandy, red desert, only a few birds wheeled overhead. To the west of where they had landed, three great monoliths dominated the skyline. They had been carved from pure obsidian and Skyler couldn't mask her shivers as she looked at them. The monoliths were images of the long lost Sith purebloods. Occasionally, streaks of purple lightning crashed off of them. The very air here seemed toxic and hard to breathe.

Maul was on high alert. He had unearthed his black Apprentice robes, giving him the look of a malicious spirit. Only his face, branded with it's black tattoos, was visible. Skyler had donned her own robes, a lighter version of Maul's, and followed him closely. The great Wolf, Guardian, trotted ahead of them. He had seemed to know where to go from the start. The beast was the size of a small pony and twice as grumpy. Yet...the great beast was as gentle as a puppy for Swift and Jacen.

The only sounds to be heard where the mournful whispers of the wind cutting across the sand and the crunching dirt from beneath paws and boots. Some places sported patches of bare grass, frozen almost solid. Guardian seemed to be heading towards a homing beacon of sorts. He was heading due north. Master and Apprentice were struggling to keep up with the great beast. Guardian seemed to know what he was doing far better than  anyone else.

Maul and Skyler walked in silence. The red hadn't been happy about the stolen crystal, but there was nothing he could do to change the past. Data crystals were rare these days. To hear one destroyed...

The chill wind cut through Skyler's swirling cloak. She shivered, one hand resting on her saberstaff. The very air felt **wrong** somehow. Like the entire planet had been poisoned.

Guardian whined from up ahead. Skyler jogged to catch up with him. She skidded to a stop as desert suddenly gave way to...nothing. A cliff. A few pebbles skittered off the sharp slope and landed, far, far below. A cistern full of brackish water gave off noxious fumes that made her gag as she looked out at the devastated town that spread out for miles below them.

It looked as if an Imperial Destroyer had made short work of the place. The ancient stone walls were blackened and pitted, great chunks had been vaporized from the streets. Curtains and banners hung in tatters from ruined windows. The ruined streets stretched far off in the horizon and broken stone towers claws at the sky like dead men's bones.

"What happened here?" Skyler asked.

"Revan." Maul's voice was tight as he looked out over the ruins. "Revan and Malak did this. In...a fit of jealous rage, I think. The Sith Lady Terrah made this her Academy."

"And those two destroyed it." Skyler put her hand over her mouth. "Is it too much to hope that the tombs are okay, too?"

Maul started picking his way down the slope. Skyler followed him, relying upon the Force for balance. Her saberstaff was at the ready. This place **reeked** of evil, **reeked** of a Darkness most foul. A pair of jealous men had attack a settlement just to destroy it. It had been no real threat, yet Revan had destroyed it. Skyler leaned into the Force as she picked her way down.

The dirt below her boots was the color of dried blood.

Her boots hit the dusty streets and sent up puffs of dust as she walked. Guardian didn't wait for an engraved invitation. He simply wagged his tail and started off at a good pace down the biggest street. Maul and Skyler followed at a safe distance. The Apprentice tried to swallow her fear as she passed by bones piled into heaps.

A girl robed in white rose from her place at a street corner. " _I would not go any father_."

Maul activated his saberstaff and swung it at the girl. It passed right through her and she smiled sadly. "Are you a ghost?" the red bluntly asked.

She nodded. " _My name is Syrah Syrah. I was a Jedi padawan, captured just hours before this place was firebombed by the Revanchist.  Don't go any further if you value staying alive_."

"Why not?" Skyler edged closer to the girl. She was dressed in Jedi robe and her padawan braid was visible down her neck. An odd sadness shone in her colorless eyes.

" _Because the Temple is Revan's grave_ ," Syrah explained. _"Revan and Malak sealed off the entrances to the tomb, but Kaan's Kryat dragons reopened it. But even so...the Destroyers left a powerful curse. Only Revan's heir may enter the vaults_."

"Shit!" Maul muttered.

" _It is for the best, my friends_ ," Syrah replied. " _The rest have been either destroyed or are fakes_."

Skyler thought back to the crystal she wore around her neck. It had glowed in the Temple of Ach'to. She remembered her mother giving her the tiny crystal and tying it around her neck. The crystal marked them as special, her mother had said. No one was to ever take it from her, because she was an heir...!

Mama would have told her more, but that was when the stormtroopers came to take her family away.

"What would Revan's heir face?" Skyler blurted out.

Syrah only shook her head. " _I've never been inside, Heir of Destruction. I only know that it is cursed with a magril's blood_."

"The _hell_?!" Maul yelped. "She's the **Heir of Destruction**?!"

"My mother gave me the crystal that got us to Dagobah," Skyler explained. She thought back further, trying t remember more about her family. "I was born on Malachor, Master. But the day I was born..."

"Was the day I started my training," Maul murmured. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. "And the day your family left Malachor..."

"Was the day you lost your legs. You were sixteen, Master," Skyler shrugged. "I felt you through the Force."

Syrah smiled wisely before fading almost away. " _May the Force be with you, my friends. Perhaps now I may have my peace_..." With an almost silent sigh, the girl became mist upon the wind.

Skyler touched the crystal around her neck. She knew what she had to do, now more than ever. "Master, before I go..."

"I know," Maul softly said. He caught her in a tight hug, his golden eyes meeting hers. "I know. As that Jedi said...may the Force be with you."

And then Maul brushed the slightest of kisses across her forehead before letting Skyler go.

 


	17. Voices Again

The same strange, cold voice that told Jacen to pick up the rock was talking to him again.

Jacen shivered as he pressed into the big Alpha-trooper. He knew what Swift was, even if the man wasn't keen on telling the others. Swift said that he might be "put down" if Maul knew. He said that some people thought the Alphas were really bad, because they wouldn't obey and be nice little slaves for the Kaminoans. That meant that most of them had been put down. When Jacen asked what that meant, Swift had told him that meant his brothers were shot. Some in front of him. Jacen didn't know what he'd do if he had to watch _his_ family be shot in front of him. Swift had been forced to watch because he was the most unruly of the bunch.

That was probably why Swift cried at night when the others weren't around to hear.

"Swift..." Jacen whispered. "I'm hearing the voice again. He wants me to take Maul's stuff and use it." He shivered as he tried to shake the ice from his veins. Talking to the Voice always made him feel cold inside. Jacen might have been Jacen Shadow-Walker and a young recruit into all things Sith, but the creepy Voice still scared him.

"Karking **hell** ," Swift muttered. He moved over on the couch. "C'mhere, kid." He lifted up his arm, encouraging the boy to sit beside him. They had both discovered early on that the Voice left Jacen alone when he was with Swift. Plus, Swift didn't get his nightmares.

"The Voice told me to hit my sister with the glowing rocks," Jacen murmured. "It told me that Maul was just holding us back." He took a shuddering breath as he continued. "It said your brothers were bad and that was why they were killed." Jacen looked up at Swift. The big man had gone very still. "But I don't think your brothers were bad, cause I like you the best."

Swift made fists in his trousers. "I'm gonna teach that karking voice a **lesson** ," he growled. Jacen nodded solemnly. "You and the dog are the only ones I actually _like_ around here. Damn Zabrak took the dog out on Planet Hell and you're dealing with a karking Force ghost."

The Voice liked to say horrible, evil things. So often that Jacen found Swift or Guardian and tried to ignore it. Maul had showed him how to shield his thoughts, but the Voice was so much stronger than a ten year old boy. Jacen still felt it at times.

Sometimes, the Voice walked in his dreams. It took the form of a scarred old alien. He might have been as old as Master Yoda, but the Voice felt horrible and icky. The Voice made Jacen try to shrink away from it. The alien in his dreams was always pale and slimy looking, like he hadn't seen the stars in a thousand years. But he was small, wiry, and...strong. Strong in the Force.

"Can you kill it for me?" Jacen softly asked.

" _Ad_ , there isn't much an Alpha-trooper can't kill," Swift replied. He sighed as he looked back at the screen. "I'll gut him for you, if I can get Skyler's beskade. How does that sound?"

"Good," Jacen nodded. What if the Voice made him try to hurt Swift? Swift was the only one who couldn't use the Force! And Swift was a lot nicer than he let you know. And Maul was teaching Jacen how to use the Force, something his Uncle hadn't wanted to do. They weren't going to cast him out in the cold. Swift might have been grumpy, but he was the nice grumpy. Kind of gruff, like his father. "Thank you."

Swift nodded tightly. "Anything for you, _ad_."


	18. Blessed By Green Fire

Guardian took her to the edge of a vast, ruined Temple complex before halting.

He whined, putting his head in Skyler's hands before backing off. The young Sith understood a little. It was likely that, as an avatar of the Light side, it would be deadly for him to try and follow her into the Temple. After the trip to Ach'to and the Force-demon incident, Skyler knew all too well about suffocating, all encompassing darkness. She didn't want to lose her dire wolf to the heir of Revan thing. Skyler wasn't even sure what it meant, but she was betting it wasn't very good.

"It's okay, Guardian." Skyler stroked his head before squaring her shoulders. She touched the tiny crystal around her neck one last time for good luck. It seemed oddly warm to her hands, like it knew what was about to happen. Then Skyler pressed her way into the ruined Temple.

Seconds after she pressed inside, total darkness engulfed her. It was an odd, clammy darkness and little puffs of frozen air escaped her lips. Skyler activated her saberstaff. The sharp green light threw ancient frescoes and wall carvings into blobs of shadows. Skyler put one foot in front of the other, wincing when she crunched something that sounded like broken bone. Somewhere in here slept Kryat dragons, according to legend. But every legend had a grain of truth and Skyler wasn't keen on proving this one. Those beasts would happily eat her.

Plus, Kaan probably cursed his vaults.

_All I want is the Amulet to heal my Master, okay?_

A cold wind brushed her as she started walking down the corridor. A pale grey fog gathered around her and Skyler felt her courage slipping. Skyler gritted her teeth as a fog of doubt whispered in her ear. It was just formed of lesser Force-ghosts, those without the presence in the Force to fully manifest. She'd seen Maul fall to his knees in one. The last thing he needed was to come down here and feel all the bad memories of his past again. Yet...wasn't that a weakness? But Maul was the strongest person she knew.

The first ghost materialized just as Skyler was about to go down a flight of stairs. Something sang within her as she looked at it. Instead of a girl wearing a white robe, this thing was wearing blood spattered iron armor. Its eyes flickered with fire and Skyler took a step back.

Skyler was breathing hard, but she managed to stay calm. "What," Skyler asked, "are **you**?"

The thing smiled. " _Is this what passes for respect these days_?"

"Are you a blood spattered corpse or a ghost?" Skyler hissed. She grasped her beskade, trying to contain her panic. A lightsaber wouldn't do any good right now. She glanced back at the white glyphs glowing against obsidian rock. Hmm...no wonder she felt so strong... Obsidian amplified the Dark Side.

" _I'm a magril_." 

"So a Sith Force ghost, then." Skyler took a deep breath and took the bonesteel sword. It should do the trick. All beskades were forged with ground bone in the steel and quenched in animal blood. Plus, Skyler was a Sith and a magril was a Sith spirit. Maybe he'd let her pass without a fight.

The magril hissed and swatted her back. Skyler landed hard. " _No one comes through here! My Lord was definite on that point_!"

Skyler swallowed as she backed up. "Right...but unless you want a bunch of Knights of Ren going down here..."

" _ **No one**_!" The magril screamed. His cloak flared, filling the air with the stench of dried blood. The creature suddenly shot up in size, cloaked in tongues of black flame. Skyler jumped backwards. The magril went from half-dead zombie warrior to full fledged demon creature in less than five seconds. Before Skyler could think, her beskade of bone steel was up and in her hands.

The magril screamed and dove at her. Skyler swung the beskade around and sliced the thing in the shoulder. It wailed. Skyler felt a little bad for the demon, but this wasn't the time. Every second she left Maul was one more where he could be dead. She'd seen in weaken in the planet's atmosphere. She cared about her Master far too deeply to just let him die.

It stepped backwards as she raised the beskade. The magril dripped green flames like blood as it watched her with solemn eyes. Skyler looked at the creature, trying to tame her pounding heart. The magril didn't look to be in that great a hurry to get killed. It nodded its head before vanishing into a puff of ash.

When the flickering green fire on her beskade died down, the metal looked poisoned. Bruised. Skyler had heard that a knick from a blade doused in magril flame would stop a zillo beast's heart. Well, now that she had one, Skyler was going to get a chance to checl that theory out. Her beskade had wounded a magril. **That** made the weapon so much more valuable.

Skyler clipped her now doused staff to her belt. That weapon was useless here. She'd have to use her wits...and her beskade of bonesteel.

 


	19. Escape

Chaos was no fool.

He didn't know where his name came from, even. His _vod_ Creed certainly hadn't named him. Perhaps Chaos had heard of the other berserkers, the ones put down before he ever existed. Chaos was a very hard to predict man all by his lonesome. He knew how to hide. He knew how to escape. He knew how to kill. Running away might have been how he got into this current mess, but it was going to get him out of it, too.

The cuts on his arms burned as he worked at the cuffs. Those sons of Sith cut him and lapped the blood from his wounds! Sometimes they'd bleed him into a bowl, but usually they _licked the blood from his wounds_! Chaos wasn't a stupid man, so he was going to try and get out of here. There was something powerful in his blood and Chaos was allowed to have it. So he had to take it, because these idiots wouldn't let him. But first...he had to get out of these cuffs.

Chaos grabbed a slender piece of wire with one of his bound hands. Thank the gods that he wasn't wearing shockles and a chain. Chaos was pretty good at picking mechanical locks, thanks to Creed. All Chaos owned in this world was a blood stained cloak and the battered water purifier beside his boot. Chaos kept his head bowed in submission as he got apart the final lock. With a sigh, he wiped his chafed and bloody wrists on the cloak he'd taken from...from...he couldn't think about Silver being dead... Chaos yanked off the leather and steel collar, sending it flying across the room.

He shuddered to think about what Hyde had planned tonight. It had involved Chaos being sprayed down with a power washer.

Chaos stood on shaky legs. Hyde and the others were off looking in the ruins of the Jedi Temple. Something about crystals and space magic. Even though he'd been in the Clone Wars, Chaos wasn't fond of the Force. It scared him.

A ghostly white wolf took place at his side. Chaos took strength from Tylen's presence. He wouldn't let the dogs around here kill him. Tylen might not have been string enough to fight off a Ren Master, but he'd scare a slaver. Chaos's belly growled as he staggered through the ship. Hyde put too much faith in the cuffs. Chaos had managed to pick them in thirty minutes. The young clone pulled his cloak over his body, trying to hide the bruises and the lightsaber scores. It didn't take much to escape a ship from the inside. All Chaos had to do was press the "raise hatch" button and off he went. Tylen picked a direction and Chaos followed. He didn't look where they were going, he just went.

He went until sharp pangs assaulted his belly. The clone started shaking and he slid down a duracrete wall. He tried not to sob. Chaos had been through so much, too much to stop now. His thighs were bruised and sticky, blood trickled down his back. He didn't say anything, just buried his face in Tylen's fur and wept. He could only get through this if he just walked.

Chaos wasn't sure what he was thinking. He didn't know what to do, beyond running to the Empire. Only the Imperials would take in a bloody, half starved clone. A man who had wasted from nearly starving to death. Chaos saw no other choices. Besides, the boys in white armor got free food and medical care.

He shivered as he picked himself up. Tylen whined. Chaos ignored the wolf, instead focusing on what he was about to do. He was volunteering to be a stormtrooper. The clone pulled the cloak around himself to keep out the worst of the rain as he walked through the lean, mean streets. Parts of Coruscant were shrouded in constant rain and this was one of them. Other parts, like the Sky Palaces, were said to be paradise.

Chaos picked one of the main roads and started walking. His booted feet were silent on the broken duracrete. The dark haired clone glided over patches of spilled acids and broken cement as best he could. A few drops of rain started to fall and Chaos cursed his foul luck. He really didn't like getting wet, not after he almost drowned on Kamino so many years before. But if he was going to be a buckethead, he'd have to learn how to swim. And shave his head.

The Imperial Recruiting Office was lit up, bright and pretty. Coruscant had no night. Chaos was okay with that, night was when the monsters came after you. Chaos pushed open the door, his head bowed. A few droids were bustling this way and that, but they paid the skinny clone no mind. Chaos ignored the gaudy posters on the wall. What good were they, since he couldn't read. It only took a few seconds, and then Chaos put his thumb print on the documents. If the troopers or the officers noted his condition, they said nothing.

He did get looked at in the medical center. One of the medics cursed when they saw all of his bruises and scars, as well as the gashes on his wrists.

"What...caused that?" a dark skinned man asked.

"Bonesilver knife." Chaos edged away from the man, daring him to pry. He couldn't see Tylen, but that was okay. "There's a reason why I'm here."

_And it ain't because I wanna serve._

"He'll need an electrolyte drip as well as supplemental food," the head medic finally said. "I'm surprised you're still walking...a man built like you...you've lost about a quarter of your mass and you're very dehydrated."

Chaos shrugged. "I'm a clone. We're tough."

"Yes, but not this tough," the man muttered.

Chaos said nothing. They didn't need to know what his class was, nor where he'd escaped from. It was obvious he was an escaped slave and the fact that he consented for a disease screening...showed he had been abused. No one said anything about it. Maybe it was the determination in Chaos's hazel eyes that did it.

That night, for the first time in ages, Chaos relaxed back as the _vod'ika_ with a brother. The brother's name was Cinders and he seemed to understand where Chaos was coming from.


	20. Not Made For Human Hands

Cold seemed to burn her to the very bone. Skyler's new, magril fire infused blade seemed to vibrate in her hands. Her saberstaff was useless here. All technology was. This was a place where the ancient Force reigned supreme. Her beskade was now tied to the Force. Skyler was a little afraid of her old weapon. It wasn't the saberstaff that she had made, but it the ancient beskade that she held in her hands. Yet...her footfalls were silent as she walked through the silent Temple.

It seemed as if tiny daggers of ice were piercing her soul. After the magril came a fog of doubt. The thing had whispered all sorts of evil things in her mind. She had been forced to rely solely upon the light as she walked through the thing. That, and her beskade got her through. The weapon often burned warm in her hands, burning away the fog. Magril fire was an amazing thing.

Skyler walked in complete darkness. Only a few slivers of moonlight pierced the inky veil, landing in dazzling patterns upon the dirty floor. This Temple must have been beautiful once. Now...it was a mere shell of its former self. She could hear odd whispering in her ears. It was of both Darkness and Light in the balance. But in the outside world, things were at a tipping point. Skyler got the idea that that wasn't a very good thing. She was walking through darkness that felt like jello. The cold seemed to bind her limbs and try to force her to stop.

The Sith woman forged on. She wanted to heal her Master, but the Temple was for the heir of Revan only. Thanks to Revan and Malak, anyways.

A room filled with silver moonlight stopped her in her tracks. Skyler walked towards the room, swearing softly. Silver moonstone grew from the walls and seemed to form spires and columns. It had made a lattice work in the ceiling. The moonstone obscured old runes burned into the wall. This very room spoke of power. Moonlight fell through a hole in the ceiling and filled the air with its silver light. Moonstone had grown from the walls and formed a glittering halo about the room.

There, lying in the center, on a carved stone slab, lay the body of the first Sith Emperor, Kaan. His entire body had been _swallowed_ by the moonstone. His armor, made of _beskar'gamm_ and studded with rubies and obsidian, was submerged beneath a layer of softly glowing moonstone. His lightsaber, now just a ruined husk, lay by his side. His crystal was embedded in an ornate death mask over his head. He looked so peaceful in death, not like the powerful Warrior he had been when alive. You couldn't even see the wounds he'd gotten in his battle with Lord Bane.

Zannah had stabbed him in the back, yet Skyler saw no evidence of the wound. All she saw was a glittering halo of silver moonstone.

Skyler knelt beside the slab, running her hands over the carved leaves and vines. Obsidian and bluestone had been inlaid in the slab, making a halo of Light and Dark around the body. The spirals of moonstone around the body were curved away, as if they couldn't touch him. It was as if the moonlight had become solid. Embedded within the armor was a silver Amulet with a core of silver moonstone. Skyler cursed softly as she looked at the thing. It was _truly_ beautiful.

Her fingers trailed across the moonstone. Skyler could feel the Amulet with the Force. This thing was part of Kaan's burial!

_'It won't work for you, heir of Revan.'_

Skyler yelped and whipped around. A spirit nodded his head, a smug smile upon its face. "Are you...?"

 _'Lord Kaan, yes. I do see that you have defeated my magril.'_ He gestured to the glowing, green sword. _'It's a blessed weapon now. Use it with great care.'_

Skyler grimaced. "I need that Amulet."

Kaan shook his head. _'I'm sorry, but no child of Revan--'_

"Revan died a thousand years ago!" Skyler snapped. She crossed her arms, tapping the beskade to her shin guard. Then she sliced at it the rocks. To her amazement, the beskade slid right through with no resistance.

 _'Bonesteel?'_ the spirit sighed. Skyler gave a slow nod. Kaan looked at the Amulet sadly. _'That thing was never made for human hands...but use it well, just the same.'_

Skyler took the beskade and sliced a hole through the layers of moonstone. The Amulet came out easily and rested in her hands like the prize it was. The Sith woman strung it on her necklace beside the crystal. There it lay, filling the air with its soft glow. "If you see any Knights of Ren come through here, give them hell."

Kaan smiled coldly.  _'Go before I lose my temper.'_

Skyler obeyed and her beskade glowed with green fire as she broke the surface


	21. Aware

The loss of one clone meant nothing in the long run. And it wasn't as if Hyde had truly cared about the blood bag. Chaos was just a clone who had valuable blood. You could go and get something better, like a Project Wellspring clone, on Kamino for cheap.

Hyde meditated in the hold of his ship. Something had changed in the Force. It was big enough that a Force damaged man like him could feel it. Something not made for human hands had entered the field of play. The Amulet of Kaan was now fair game. It might not have been as powerful as a Shadow Knight artifact, but it would serve well to heal his connection to the Force.Hyde swore under his breath. Well, it did look like that damn Zabrak had done the hard work. All Hyde had to do was swoop down and steal it like a gyrfalcon. The power reserve would help him out **immensely** in killing Aelina Storm. Hyde had his new recruits. He just didn't have his Amulet.

It wasn't as if Aelina Storm was a bad second in command. She was a great Shadow Hunter, in fact. The man she had helped Azira kill had nearly ran the Order of the Shadow in the ground. Caiside, that old bastard, had taken an amazing Order and made it a mere shadow of its former self. He's brought back the old ways and stained the Order of the Shadow with blood. They had even drank it.

The Shadow Knights had gone from a feared, if splintered, Order into a mess of factions squabbling for power. It had been a _mire_ of petty squabbles and back stabbing. Was it any wonder that a pair of exiled Knights, both pirates, had been able to slip in and poison Caiside in his sleep? The other challenged Caiside's second, Hyde's father, to a duel and dropped a ceiling on him. That was a common enough tactic, to crush your opponent under a few tons of rock. It killed the enemy quite quickly. Hyde wouldn't have had a problem with this, except that Aelina had taken the son of a whore and a Project Wellspring reject under her wing with him. The clone had clung to her and the three year old knew more than he should. It had been to much for Hyde and so he fled.

Hyde stood up from his place. He closed his yellow and red eyes, trying to think. What would they do next? Maul was going to use that Amulet to heal his wounds. The Amulet of Kaan was supposed to amplify your connection to the Force, not repair nerve damage brought on by your own carelessness. Hyde wanted it to restore what had been lost. Once he had it, he'd kill the ones that took his Aelina and his Azira from him.

It was unlikely Aelina had gotten soft. Hyde had seen her, coming in from a battle, drenched in blood and reeking of death. She hadn't skipped a beat, and had used that time to care for her shattered clone and the brat she'd stolen from a whorehouse. Proper Shadow Knights used the duality they were gifted with, she had explained. It was a talent we were born with. The Knights of Ren were more tipped towards the Dark. The Shadow Knights lived in a grey area.

For them, there was no Darkness or Light, only shadows and shades of grey.

Hyde sighed as he paced the hold. He ran his hands over the cool walls of his _Black Diamond_. He changed ships as often as he changed names.

The door opened and Mitch slipped in the hold. "Hyde? Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?" Hyde hissed. He kept his voice flat and didn't bother turning around. "Didn't I tell you not to bother me?"

Mitch pressed a thermos of soup into Hyde's hands. "You have to eat, Hyde. It won't go very well if you aren't eating."

Hye closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts. Mitch did have a good point. But that didn't mean Hyde had to approve. "All the same, I'm trying to keep Maul from killing us!"

"You can't do that if you're starving!" Mitch protested. His light brown eyes caught the light and Hyde groaned. He never could resist Mitch when the other man was pleading with him. He was fearsome in battle, though, and that was what Hyde needed.

Hyde sat down on the crates, his head in his hands. He'd never be able to get what he'd lost back, he'd never be able to have Aelina sing to him at night. He'd never be able to watch the little red haired boy try to climb up a tree. He'd never train with Dogma, never sneak into the Shadow Temple at night with the man, never steal a few kisses in the moon drenched night. What had Snoke gotten him?

But he'd never be able to go back. And so he would soldier on, until the Shadow Knights were dust beneath his feet.

Not even his vow-brother would be able to stop him.


	22. Tainted Air

Maul waited for hours, worrying. So very much of him was terrified that his Apprentice would be killed. Lightning storms were gathering across the plains of Koribban and Maul didn't want to die in one. He was afraid, though, that Skyler would be killed. He had come too far, endured too much, to lose everything to an undead Sith Lord. For the first time since Osiris Academy, something good was happening to him. And there wasn't an angry Sith Lord coming through to kark it up. Someone **loved** him. Maul wasn't sure how to handle the feeling, not after all that had been done with him. It would take a long time, perhaps forever, before all of the scars were purged from his soul.

He'd waited too long. Maul's danger sense was crawling on the back of his neck as he waited. Even with Skyler being the "Heir of Reven", she wasn't invincible. Maul would save her, even if it killed him. The red Zabrak took a moment to compose himself before he grabbed the staff. A Sith was naturally protective of what was theirs. And Skyler _belonged_ to Maul as far as his instincts were concerned. A hot light shone in his golden eyes as he prepared himself. Whatever happened down there, he was going to get Skyler out. maul was sure of it. Copper dirt, the color of dried blood, crunched under his boots as he loped towards the entrance of the Temple. Maul moved with his usual grace and speed, looking for all the world like he belonged on the world of death.

He was attached to Skyler. It might save him or damn him.

Maul touched the Force bond most Masters and Apprentices shared. He'd never had one with Sidious. Maul had just been a Force sensitive slave, to be thrown away when he was no longer needed. He knew that Skyler was alive and she was elated. Perhaps she had found the Amulet. Or, maybe, this trip was like Ach'to and a total waste of their time. Either way, Maul knew she was still among the living.

He picked up the pace. Things tugged on the sides of his mind as the world's harsh atmosphere tore up his lungs. Maul's entire chest ached. It was as if tiny daggers were stabbing him with every breath he took. Chills washed over the red's body as he passed by an effigy that looked like Sidious. The Temple was near. He needed to keep moving. He cast his odd golden eyes around, looking for his Apprentice.

Nothing greeted his gaze.

Maul chalked it up to a bad case of nerves from seeing a rock carved like his Master. He pressed on. All too soon, though, he was gasping, trying to force air through bleeding, aching lungs. Koribban was trying to kill him. Maul knew it, but he had to find Skyler. The red collapsed near a red granite plinth and doubled over. Blood trickled from his lips as he coughed, making the stone glow.

_Ah, **shit**._

Twin hearts raced in his chest as he tried to draw in air. Maul had almost been drowned once. Skadiki Blirr had filled the cell he was chained in with water. _Cold_ water. Water that burned his skin and made his half healed wound scream. Things had slithered up his legs and poked their way through rags to places where they shouldn't have gone. The fact that Maul bled, his body rejected it, only drove them onwards. In desperation, Maul had called upon the Force _to make it **stop**_. He'd used the Light, though. Maul had been too terrified to grasp the Dark. It had slipped from his body like oil between his fingers. Later, that night, his body weakened from the cold and the invasion, he'd been taken to "greet" both of Sidious's friends.

One had take him and the other ridden him. There were many days when Maul was grateful he wasn't a submissive male and able to bear children. That day was one of them.

_'So now you admit your weakness.'_

Maul looked around, grasping his staff weakly. "Who's there?"

_'I gave you everything, Maul. I gave you training the other Apprentices would have killed for. I took you away from Talzin. She would have sold you to Caiside, you know.'_

"Master..." Maul breathed the word, looking around. Yet nothing greeted his gaze. Just the nasty little voice in his ear, telling him lies. "I can't trust you. You _lied_ to me! You **let** those sons of bitches hurt me!"

_'I wished to make you stronger, My Apprentice.'_

"You could have done it a nicer way," Maul growled. He struggled to get his legs under him, trying to fight back the growing maelstrom. Darkness seemed to wash over him, burning Maul to his bones. He cried out, stumbling. The Darkness laughed and Maul sense another. A figure with a spark of Light within him. "You never told me! I didn't know what they were doing!"

_'I thought you knew, because you insisted on learning to read. You had already lost your innocence, Maul. I merely removed its physical aspect.'_

Bile rose to the back of his throat and Maul heaved. "You...sick bastard..." He felt like he was drowning now, feeling things go where they didn't belong, feeling the icy water cover his body and his lungs. Feeling himself start to go to sleep...and never awaken. "And when I **begged** you to help me, on Lotho Minor, you left me to feed the fire-wolves!"

_'Such weakness can't go unpunished, My Apprentice.'_

How many times had he called Skyler that? How many times had those words been used with affection, not hatred? Maul wouldn't be able to use them again without feeling sick.

"Master!" Hands picked him off the plinth. Maul looked up, Skyler. He realized that there were tears in his eyes and vomit down his robes. He raised one taloned hand and brushed her cheek, much to remind himself that she was real. She wasn't like the Dark thing that was his Master. Skyler wouldn't hurt him. A warm piece of jewelry settled in the hollow of his chest and Maul took a deep breath of untainted air. "Maul! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Maul managed. He looked back at the plinth, shuddering. "Let's go home."


	23. The Game Begins

Plenty of clones joined the stormtrooper corps. _Plenty_ of clones. Some of these clones were from Death Row (the not so subtle nickname for the place on Kamino where brothers were sent to be executed) and they had been set free. Those brothers deserved a second chance. Very few clones were truly evil and some of the trainers were sadistic enough to drive you to lengths you'd never think you'd go until you were forced too.

Cinders was one of those clones. His _vod'ika_ , a clone named Iron, had seizures. They had wanted to take Iron apart to see what made him defective. One of Cinders' good friends, an ARC named Menace, had pretty much grabbed Iron in the middle of the night and stolen him. Cinders was the distraction. He shot three of his trainers that day, the ones that beat him and left him sobbing on the floor. They abused him, so Cinders had stolen a gun and shot them. In cold blood. On the parade grounds, so the other two could escape. Another three days and Cinders would have been put down like a dog. He would have been gassed or given a lethal injection.

Three days. Three tiny, pitiful days and Cinders would have been _**dead**_.

Chaos also hated the new helms. For one thing, you couldn't see out of them. For another, they were heavy. You didn't want to turn your head because of the strain to your neck and shoulders. So your visibility was limited as was your movement. Not something Chaos liked. But he did have Cinders with him and that made it tolerable.

Right now, he was escorting a certain SOB to Lord Kallus. Chaos' heart hammered in his chest as he marched in lockstep with Cinders, Aiden, and Breck. They formed up his squad. The last time Chaos had had a squad, it had been during the Clone Wars. He didn't know where Creed, Silver, Maverick, and Ice were now. All he could hope was that they were still alive. Or, failing that, among the stars.

_That's not morbid at all, Chaos..._

Beside Chaos' squad, Hyde sulked. The son of a Sith wore his black leather jacket, over which was slung his saberstaff. Chaos had seen that thing in action enough to know that Hyde could use it. His cold yellow eyes scanned the room around them. Harsh boots, scarred from years of battle, echoed off the cold, poured concrete floor. Chaos' knees were shaking in his white armor. Though Hyde probably thought he was just another white armored drone, Chaos was still scarred. Having knives scar your arms for years on end messed you up.

When they got to Lord Kallus' office, Chaos started hyper ventilating.

"What does a Sith Lord want with a Shadow Knight Amulet?" Lord Jason Kallus didn't bother turning around as Hyde slipped in. Chaos swallowed. Cinders moved a little beside his _vod'ika_. The other two shifted on their feet. Kallus kept his back to the Ren Master, totally disrespecting the other man.

"It's not Shadow Knight, milord," Hyde explained. He took the staff off his back and dropped it with a harsh clatter on a marble topped table. Everyone jumped. "It's the Sith Amulet of Kaan."

"That's a fairy tale," Kallus growled. He turned around, glaring at Hyde. "Don't waste my time. It's not real."

"But it is," Hyde smirked. He took something from his pocket. A shimmering crystal, its surface a whorl of a thousand different colors. "This is one of Kaan's artifacts. A specialized Kyber crystal, if you may."

"Just like the one in my lightsaber," Kallus mused. He turned around, tapping the hilt of the weapon. Chaos shivered. He might have been a berserker, but even he didn't want to get caught in a fight between a Sith and a Red Master. Hyde was a deadly fighter and Kallus was no different. Hyde had nothing to live for and he'd been trained by a Shadow Hunter. Kallus was quite the powerful Warrior. If they got in a fight, the fallout might kill him.

"Is it from Dagobah?" Hyde guessed. He smiled and that sent shivered down Chaos' spine. The clone drew back. That smile was often accompanied by a dagger slicing his wrist, his blood dripping from the wounds, and it being lapped from the wound.

"Yes," Kallus managed. He cocked his head, looking at Hyde. "And why do you even care?"

"How much do you know about the one known as Darth Maul?"

Kallus stroked his beard. "He's a failed Sith Apprentice who just won't die. Either than man has the luck of the gods or he's too karking stubborn. Reports from the Outer Rim say that he's a small time arms smuggler. Darth Maul is no threat."

"The Amulet of Kaan is six times your crystal." Hyde sat on the polished wooden desk, his yellow-gold eyes bright. "It's a power reserve."

_Like I was?_

Chaos was careful to keep his mouth shut and his expression blank beneath his helm. You never knew when the Force-users would start poking around through your head. Chaos had learned that the hard way.

"Maul has no real power," Kallus laughed. "He never could defeat Kenobi! Why should we cower in fear, just because he finds some stupid _Amulet_? Don't waste my time, Ren Master."

"He will give it to the Shadow Knights!" Hyde snapped. "The very same Shadow Knights who ransomed Lord Vader to the Rebellion! I don't want Aelina Storm to have anymore power than she already does!"

"So you want me to poke my head in a dog fight between the Order of the Shadow and the Knights of Ren?" Kallus snarled. He gave Hyde a long look. Chaos started rooting for the Sith, not the Ren Master. He would like nothing more than punching Hyde in the face for all the pain and torture he'd endured. It had been too much. _All of the blood they drank from his body_...

"It's in the Empire's best interest!" Hyde retorted. "Darth Maul is more of a threat than you think!"

Chaos struggled to keep calm as they argued. A little bit of him wondered if Hyde knew who he was and was just waiting for a chance to swoop down and kill him. Later, that night, he'd stay with Cinders. He needed his brother. Maybe it was wrong to some, but Chaos needed Cinders.

Kallus looked at Hyde with cold eyes. "Do not make me waste men on a wild goose chase, Ren Master." He paused, his eyes meeting ones that gleamed in madness. "How many troopers do you need?"


	24. An Encounter

It had never occurred to her that Sidious would show up.

Maul rarely talked of his Master, beyond that Sidious was an evil man by _his_ standards. Skyler knew that he was responsible for a lot of Maul's scars and the way he always shied away from affection. He'd been hurt before. Skyler didn't want to hurt him again. She couldn't read that much into his kiss. Maul was, after all, a Sith first. He was trained in the arts of war.But she still cared about him.

Skyler found him doubled over a red granite plinth. He was clearly in distress and fear shown in his golden eyes. Skyler staggered back as something... **evil**...washed over her. She forced through it and grabbed Maul. He was boneless in her hands, all of his strength gone to fighting whatever he saw in the whirling maelstrom that surrounded them. Maul wasn't invincible, no matter what he thought of himself as. Hyde had hurt him so badly before... She slipped the Amulet over his head without a second thought. It glittered in the hollow of his throat like some bizarre piece of armor. The Sith runes carved into the thing flashed yellow in the red tinted air. Skyler felt a little dizzy as she tried to get Maul out of the way.

_"What are you doing, little girl? He isn't worth saving. He never was."_

Her blood almost froze in her veins. Skyler tried to gather her wits, focusing on the warm weight in her arms. "I'm getting him to safety! Kriff off!" She'd left the hatch on the _Scimitar_ unlocked. Maybe not her best move, but the hold still sealed. She could get him there and get her Master to safety. There was a snarl as Guardian bounded out of the building sandstorm. His fur glowed with a white light as he snarled the challenge. The inky darkness in the sky suddenly swirled and became the form of a battle scarred old man. Darkness gleamed in his yellow eyes. He wasn't real, his feet didn't leave prints in the dust, but he was a threat all the same. Skyler touched her weakened Master's throat. A pulse beat beneath his fingers. He would survive.

The wolf sprang at the monster. Skyler summoned her strength from the Force as she pulled Maul into the ship. He seemed stunned from his contact with whatever that thing was and Skyler didn't blame him. If that had been his Master...she wondered why he'd turned out as good as he did. Guardian bounded beside them. Lightning streaks had hit his side and he whined with pain.

"Good boy," Skyler whispered. She hugged the wolf, burying her face in his neck ruff. " _Good boy_."

Jacen appeared as she dropped and sealed the hatch. "Where's Maul, Auntie Skyler?"

"He's injured." Skyler took the Amulet from Maul's neck. It seemed to glow in her hands. Skyler fought the urge to put the thing on. It was clearly powerful, but such power could be consuming. Skyler had heard the cautionary stories from her Master. She didn't want to turn into Sidious and hurt him all over again.

"Oh." Jacen bit his bottom lip. Guardian wagged his tail and trotted over. The big wolf started to herd the boy away and take him to where he needed to go.

"Were you good for Swift?" Skyler called. Maul stirred a little on the floor. For a Sith, he was a good man. They might have had a rocky start, but they were close now. Skyler knelt beside him and helped the red up. Maul took her hand, careful of his talons. "Jacen? Can you get Maul some water?"

The blonde boy nodded. "C'mon, Guardian! Maybe Swift will play hide and seek with us!"

Maul smiled a little. "Kids. Makes me wish _I_ had been allowed to do that."

"Nobody's stopping you." Skyler didn't ask about the shadowy man. The red Zabrak was always a little wary, but he was doing better now, she thought. "And we have the Amulet."

"I felt it." Maul seemed to lean on her a little. He closed his golden eyes, as if gathering his strength. Skyler let him. Something washed over her from him. Maul wasn't shielding from her. He was allowing her to see him as he was, scars and all. All of the places where he'd been abused as a child. All of the things he could never get back.

Skyler touched his shoulder, her fingers moving over the red's smooth skin. The Amulet seemed the glow between them. Maul needed it to ease the pain in his hips and spine. They were hoping this could ease the damage Kenobi caused. If not... Well, this was a big galaxy.

Jacen came back with a glass of water. "Swift says he's up to playing Duex. Wanna play? Swift cheats and I never win."

Maul looked at Jacen. "Sith cheat too, kid."

The boy shrugged. "Well, I wanna be on **your** team! Swift says that he and his brothers played Duex all the time and he's better than a couple of Sith."

"Did he, now?" Skyler grinned. He looked over at Maul. The red got some water and ignored her. "Maul here is a Sith Lord."

"I won this ship from a guy," Maul shrugged. "Shooting contest."

Skyler really wanted a nap. She had a glowing green sword on her hip and she was holding hands with a Sith. Maul looked affectionate, at least. He seemed to be surprised that she didn't mind his scars. Skyler saw a survivor where others saw a broken man.

"Let's play," Maul shrugged. "Been ages since I played."


	25. The Ashes of a Life

Chaos shivered as he huddled in the bunk. Having Hyde around scared the poodoo out of him. He'd learned about getting close to people after he'd lost his _vode_ Creed and Silver. Chaos had been shattered for weeks. But he'd hunted down the dogs that did it and made them pay. He'd left their bodies strewn over an entire street. Chaos hadn't felt good about kill those men that way, but it had been the only thing he could do. He'd snapped. He'd lost it and those men were dead as a result.

Cinders soothed back his hair as the younger clone shivered. Brothers needed each other. They had all grown up touch starved and this was what they needed. "I take it you don't like Hyde, _vod'ika_."

"Hyde made me his slave." Chaos kept his voice low and steady as he pulled up his sleeves. Cinders hissed as he ran a gentle hand over all of the knotted up scar tissue. "Something in my blood is valuable, so he'd cut me up. Some of his knights l-l-lapped it out of the cuts..." Chaos shivered. Every time he'd been afraid that Hyde would go too deep and kill him. He couldn't even describe how it felt to have the Knights of Ren drink his blood.

Cinders sighed ad rested his head on top of Chaos'. Chaos had the contact he needed. He'd been both _vod_ and _vod'ika_. Right now, it looked like he was the latter. Years of captivity changed a person. "I can see why you hate Hyde," Cinders softly said. He looked away. "And we're the ones he wants to lead that squad. Fun, fun, fun."

"I was trained by a Jedi killer," Chaos muttered. Talking about Creed hurt him now. "I'm a berserker. I can fight."

_But Hyde is a damn good fighter. He's mad. He's not going to stop until someone makes him._

"It doesn't matter," Cinders argued. He shifted as the younger clone squirmed. Chaos had been alone for so long. The Imperial officers seemed to understand how the clones worked. As long as they could get to their jobs the next day, no one cared. And the clones were the better soldiers anyways. It wasn't like they could afford to be so picky.

A trooper shook Cinders. "Hyde wants to see you both. Something about makin' sure you understand about Maul."

Chaos swore as he picked himself up. "Great..." That was the **last** thing he wanted, to get dragged into a private meeting with the subject of his frequent nightmares. But there wasn't much a pair of clones could do but get up and walk. Chaos tried to bury the trembling. His instincts hadn't led him wring before. Maybe...maybe they should just run and leave this world behind. Chaos swallowed as they walked. Why did it feel like they were going to their deaths?

Hyde cornered them out in the courtyard. "You _thought_ you could get away from me, you piece of **rat shit**?!" He grabbed Chaos with the Force, bringing the clone to his knees. Chaos yelled. He clawed at the unseen hands. Hyde bore down harder. His red staff crackled to life, throwing off sparks and heat just under the pinned clone's chin. Chaos froze in his struggles.

This...was it. Hyde was going to kill him. He was going to die.

Behind him, Cinders screamed. He drew back his fist and punched Hyde in the face. The Ren Master snarled. Before Chaos could stop him, the red staff flashed around and stabbed Cinders. The clone looked down at the weapon sticking out of his chest. Chaos couldn't see his brother's face. He could barely see due to the tears and wasn't aware that the hoarse scream was his. All he could see was the red light sticking out of him.

And then Cinders fell, his body hitting with a _thud_.

Chaos' dagger found its way into his hand. Rage, white hot and molten, flooded his vision. Chaos swiped through the air. His training came back to him in a flash. All Creed had taught him to do was kill and Chaos was good at it.

He cut Hyde down the collar bone. Hyde snarled and threw the man across the courtyard. Chaos landed hard. He got up, knife dripping with Hyde's blood. Chaos threw off his helm, struggling to control his breathing. Something slammed into his gut. Chaos threw the man across the area. The Knight of Ren backhanded Chaos with the Force. Chaos didn't care. His knife flashed again and he drew blood. Hyde grabbed him and forced him to his knees. Chaos screamed and fought through it. This had happened before. He knew what Hyde wanted to do. He knew and he didn't care.

"You can't kill me," Hyde taunted. He darted away from the clone, smiling coldly. "I did the galaxy a favor, killing another meat bag."

"You murdered my brother!" Chaos hissed. He looked at the dead body before knowing what he'd done. He looked over at Hyde and knew. Hyde was meaning to kill him. He'd humiliated the man in front of his Knights. Chaos had to die. So he took a running leap over the courtyard all and shed his blood spattered armor in a gutter. And if his face was gleaming with tears? Well, no one would know if they were from the rain or from Chaos mourning his brother.

Hyde had taken every chance Cinders had ever had to be a free man.


	26. These Old Bones

Falling asleep on the floor when you were a Zabrak with pain issues wasn't the best idea.

The Duex game had gone on far longer than it was supposed too. Jacen, poor kid, had finally dropped off to sleep beside Guardian. The big wolf draped himself over Jacen, watching the others with yellow eyes. Swift proved to be a better player than the others thought. Maul was prone to cheating, he was a Sith after all, and he hated to lose. But with Swift, it was a fight. It was **always** a fight to win a game of cards with him.

Skyler shifted in his lap. His Apprentice had been very tired when they got back and dropped back on him to sleep. Swift had quipped about it. Maul said that she was his and gave her a resounding kiss. She was his. She cared about him and wasn't going to drop him because he'd been injured. That was the glory of it, he thought. He had a family now. A patchwork quilt of a family.

His only problem now was the sharp, splitting pains in his back and hips. Kenobi's lightsaber had really worked a number on his body. The Kaminoans had done a decent job, but they hadn't fixed the nerve damage. Getting in fights with the Knights of Ren probably wasn't helping matters any.  Maul liked taking long soak baths. It felt very good to him and he could relax with it. He just enjoyed doing it. So he could rest and sleep and let the pain go away.

Swift cracked open one eye. "Kids still asleep?"

Maul pushed Skyler off. "Jacen is. So is Skyler, I think." He stood up, grimacing as he stood. His lower back ached. Kenobi really had worked him over that day on Naboo so long ago. Something had gone wrong and no one had managed to fix it. Mail sighed and rubbed the aching muscles.

"Jacen's a good kid," Swift murmured. He nudged Guardian with one booted foot. "C'mon, buddy. Time to get you some food." The big wolf whined and flopped down with a jangle of dog tags.

"You do know that beast is an immortal avatar of the Force, right?" Maul asked. "He's not your dog."

"Guardian has a muzzle, four legs, a tail, he barks, and he sheds like crazy," Swift dryly said. "To me, that makes him a dog." He sighed and watched as Maul rubbed his injuries. "You okay?"

"Just a little stiff." Maul closed his eyes, soothing the aches as best he could with the Force. "We'll need to hit Corellia again. Mostly to try and pin down Amayas Sil. He knows more about some stuff than I do."

Swift stumbled to the galley and pulled out the thing of dog food. For a giant wolf, Guardian was remarkably well behaved. Except when he chewed up Maul's favorite pair of boots. Maul followed the ARC trooper into the galley and began searching through the galley, looking for food. Jacen was arguably the hardest to please when it came to feeding people. Swift had been hungry and so had Maul and Skyler. They ate without question.

"Amayas Sil?" Swift made a face. There was a jingle of doggie tags as Guardian started nosing around for food. Maul grabbed what looked like a thing of oatmeal and rolled his eyes. Joy. Maple syrup and ginger. Not his favorite, but he needed the food. That was going to make his day so much better.

"So...what happened to my food?" Maul casually asked.

Guardian belched and nosed his bowl around.

"Not my fault that wolf likes whatever you eat," Swift muttered.

Maul gave Swift a long look. "You gave my _terrisami_ to _Guardian_?!"

"You left me and Jacen on the ship for eight hours. Alone. Do you know how hard it is to entertain him?!" Swift yelped. He glared right back. "There are only so many episodes of Wander Over Yonder that I can take without going mad! And, besides, Jacen liked picking the seeds out of it. It was probably even educational for the kid."

Maul knew what Wander Over Yonder was. It was some crazy kid's show that got grating after two episodes. "That was still my breakfast of choice. And you gave that to the **dog**."

"It was a bag of ground corn meal with seeds in it," Swift muttered.

Maul shoved the half empty box of instant oatmeal at Swift. "Here. Do something with this--and don't give it to the dog! I'm going to take a hot bath. Get me if the ship is going to hell but not before!" He stalked off to the refresher. He had his morning ritual and one that he didn't want to change. He was also lucky. Lucky that he could still think of things like Skyler. Maul also knew how lucky he'd been to not get a disease from what Bakkari had done to him.

Had he really thought that Maul was a submissive? Or was he just in the mood to cause pain that night? Maul would never know, as Bakkari was dead. He'd killed all of those who dared touch him like that. He'd never be the same. The damage Bakkari and his sister had done would never be erased. He'd killed them. Almost ripped them apart with the Force. The man had done it in just a second.

Maul ran the taps as hot as he could take before settling in. This wouldn't cure his wounds, but it would make him feel better. He closed his eyes and relaxed. It would serve to soothe his nerves and make him feel better. That...that was what he needed to do and not torture his mind with what had happened. He couldn't change the past. He could only change the future and he fully intended to do that.


	27. I Try to Help

Guardian butted Swift's leg with his cold, wet nose as he begged for food.

Swift rolled his eyes. "C'mon, you bloody mutt! Remind me again why I gave you all that food earlier?" Oh, yeah...because the mutt acted like he was hungry and that was the one soft spot Swift had. He understood hunger all to well. So he fed Guardian. Thankfully, the wolf didn't barf. That would have been one nice mess, to clean up, too.

Plus, Jacen was bored. Swift could only watch about three episodes of Wander over Yonder before the musical numbers really got on his nerves.

By some miracle, the food fairies had left a package of froze bacon in the back of the freezer. While maul cooked out of a can, Swift liked to visit the HoloNet and find new ways to feed himself. Even if half of his culinary adventures got fed to the dog. It was still worth it, to him anyways. He could fix bacon and eggs, though. Add in a little more protein for the carnivore in their midst. Zabraks ate quite a bit of meat. Maul might have been a nut, but he did try. Swift could respect that about a man.

He started cooking his breakfast. Guardian, probably realizing that he wasn't getting very far with the theatrics, flopped down beside the Alpha Trooper's boots. Swift ignored the beast. Bad doggies weren't fed bacon. ( _And neither were bad boys_ , the nasty voice in his head whispered. Swift squashed it without a second thought). Now, it was probably a good idea to get the kids before Swift ate it all. He was a former slave, after all. He was used to not having enough food, sad as it was, and eating all he could because he never knew when his next meal was coming from.

Ration bars tasted nasty. Scrambled eggs were amazing. Cody was the culprit behind that one.

A sleepy-eyed Jacen stumbled into the galley. Guardian got to his feet and licked the boy across the face. The dog whined as he backed away. Swift smiled softly. Maul was not a good parent, because he let the boy stay up til all hours of the night. They would have to have words about that one.

"You're making eggs?" Jacen asked. He dropped a hand to Guardian's scruff.  The wolf sighed and dropped his head in Jacen's lap. For an immortal avatar of the Force, Guardian was pretty domesticated.

"And bacon," Swift replied. "I like both." He decided not to mention Cody. Cody was a Jedi killer. Swift, for all of his faults, wasn't.

"Okay." Jacen drummed his fingers on the table. "Guardian says he wants the bacon."

"Tell Guardian he ate a good will's worth of oatmeal," Swift retorted. Old training died hard. He very much wanted to be a good boy and stay in Maul's good graces. Once again, Swift shuddered and tried to silence the past.

Jacen pouted. "But Guardian--!"

"Guardian is a wolf," Swift sighed. He closed his eyes as he tried to word the argument. Jacen was a little kid. Swift was a war scarred Alpha Trooper. Surely they couldn't coexist without some major issues coming up. Add in the fact that this was the first real family that Swift had had since his brothers had been _murdered_ in front of him...

"So?" Jacen asked. "Maul says he's an avatar of the Force. Whatever that means. What is he?"

"I don't know," Swift finally said. The last time he'd said this was right before his brothers were killed. They had asked him what they were going to do. Mace Windu had pretty much just told them that the Council had voted to put all the Alphas down because they were too hard to deal with. Swift, being too scared to step outside the walls of Kamino, had frozen up. And his brothers had been killed as a result. Swift had effectively dammed his whole family with his fear.

"He's Guardian," Jacen smiled. Swift felt his heart melt as he looked at the smiling kid. He had a family now...and he could learn how to live like that again. Even if it took him back to that time when he last saw Dar before his _vod'ika_ was lead away to be killed.

And all for a crime he'd never committed.


	28. The Warning

Once again, Chaos was hungry. He'd been hungry for far too long, but the sharp pangs never got any better. That was just a fact of life if you asked him. He'd had enough food in the stormtrooper ranks, but Hyde had ruined that for him. It was now back to going hungry again. And, now, Cinders was dead...it was almost too much for him to take in at one time.  Chaos hadn't even seen Tylen in days. He was missing his guardian, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it.

Cinders was dead because of **him**. If Chaos had never tried to get into the stormtrooper ranks, Cinders would still be alive.  He would still be drinking contraband booze and laughing at dirty jokes with the others. He would still be talking about his adventures with Captain Sunny Jax of the freighter _Outclaw_ and all of the chaos she created on a daily basis. About how he and his _vod'ika_ Asher and tried for Sunny's heart, but she belonged to their brother Libertas.

The brother never told Chaos why he left that freighter. He had said that it was bad for two clones to love each other in a sexual way, but it had happened. But if a male Jedi loved his clone commander...it made little sense to Chaos. But Cinders had loved him like a brother and let him cuddle against his body at night. Cinders had still left his loved ones and never said why. That said nothing about the normal's loyalty.

He wondered if Asher and Sunny had even looked for Cinders. Chaos knew that no one had ever looked for him.

_I know Creed didn't care._

He had to find Maul. That much was clear. Chaos squared his shoulders and started looking through the docking records. Maul was traveling with a giant wolf, an Alpha Trooper, a ten year old, and his very own Apprentice.  Not exactly a group likely to stay under the radar for any period of time. Chaos had been trained by an assassin, for the Force's sake! He was pretty sure he could track down a group like that. Creed, though, would have laughed and hugged him, telling him that the Sith was no threat as long as he was there.

None of the crowds paid him any heed as he walked through. They weren't looking for a skinny clone with a bloody helm under his arm. Corellia's sky was iron grey over his head and he tried not to think of his former friends. Chaos preferred sun when he could get it, he was from Kamino, but he had no problem with the rain either. It was a free shower. All that mattered was finding Maul and his group.

Chaos had given up hope of having a family. He'd lost Creed, Silver, and Cinders. They were **dead** and there was nothing he could do about it. He'd warn off Maul and then be on his way. The galaxy was a big place. It wasn't hard to get lost so that no one would ever find you again. Especially if your ashes were scattered among the stars.

The clone entered a space port, looking around. He watched as a rangy looking young woman and a ten year old boy looked around the market stalls. Chaos snorted. Tourist traps, the lot of them. Chaos noted the wolf and smiled. It looked like Skyler Yeager, Jacen Solo, and the wolf. That was all from the intel he'd stolen from Hyde Ren. Missing from the group, of course, was Darth Maul and the Alpha Trooper Swift. That was okay by Chaos. He had no desire to get in a fight with an Alpha Trooper.

He decided to follow them.

"I wanna see another dinosaur!" Jacen protested. "Why can't we feed the ones with big teeth?"

"Because those are the ones that eat little boys," Yeager replied. She carried herself differently than a Jedi ever did. She was power and confidence, and a little of the Dark Side shone in her blue grey eyes. Chaos wondered if she would even care. He needed Cinders. **Now**. Chaos didn't think he could take it without his brothers. But Cinders had died for what he did. Just because he, Chaos, had tried to be a stormtrooper.

That was in the past, though. Chaos had to focus on the now. He needed to find Maul and then he could take a long walk out a short airlock. The idea was looking better and better all the time. It didn't start to rain as he walked and, for that, Chaos was grateful. He kept his head down and his gaze directed down. He knew how to play the slave boy all to well.

The wolf broke from his place at Yeager's side and came pelting towards him. Chaos froze. He was unarmed and cursed his foul luck. The wolf stopped before him and hazed at him with human-like brown gold eyes. It was a massive beast, more than enough to kill him and eat him. This thing wasn't Tylen--it was a monster!

"Good doggie..." Chaos managed. He backed away, wondering if this was another creature like Tylen was. "All I want to do is talk to Maul..."

At the mention of the Zabrak's name, the wolf lowered his head and snarled. Chaos gulped. This was a big dog with big teeth.

"Or not..." Chaos edged backwards. The wolf walked forward, stiff legged. The clone was afraid of the wolf, too. After all, only a fool would doubt the terrible power of its jaws. "Um..."

Yeager looked towards him. "Guardian? What are you doing?"

"He's going to eat me!" Chaos yelped. "I'm not a bad guy! I swear it!"

Hot eyes locked onto his and and Chaos felt another mind brush him. He swallowed, looking at the Sith woman with fresh eyes.

"What," she hissed. "Do you want?"


	29. A Helping of Chaos

He didn't look like a typical stormtrooper. The young man was skinny, with haunted dark eyes peering up at her. His black hair had been shaved brutally short. But what got her the most was all of the scars on his upper arms. Tthis clone had _issues_. Issues that she currently didn't have the time to deal with.

"The Empire wants your Amulet," he blurted. "They think it can heal Lord Vader."

Skyler's jaw dropped. "What _are_ you?"

"I'm a berserker class clone named Chaos," He took a breath and composed himself. " _Please_ , Yeager... I'm not going to lie to you about this. But the Empire wants the Amulet of Kaan and they'll kill you to get it."

That didn't surprise her. After all, she and Maul had been in similar situations. What did surprise her was that the clone had gone out of his way to seek her out. Clearly, this was important to him. Skyler just wasn't sure _why_ , though. This wasn't his battle, not as far as she could see. But, for some strange reason, Skyler felt she owed the man.

"Hyde will kill me if he knew what I did," the clone begged. " _Please_ , he killed my brother. I might have beat the crap out of him and I stabbed him...he wants to kill me. He said as much himself. I don't wanna turn into his slave..."

Skyler put herself between the clone and Jacen. "Then why didn't you kill him?"

"Because he has the Force and I don't," the clone sighed. He looked at the ground, covering the scars on his arms. " ** _Please_**...otherwise it's a long walk out a short airlock or Nar Shadda for me."

This guy had fought Hyde. Skyler wasn't brave enough to do that on her own, and this clone _was_. He'd fought Hyde on his own without the Force. Chaos was just a man. Hyde might have been a wreck, but he was still a Knight of Ren. Chaos was just a man with superior battle skills. He should have been killed. Skyler owed Chaos for warning her about the Amulet. And if he was looking at death or slavery on Nar Shadda...she couldn't toss him aside. He didn't have to tell her about the Amulet. Yet, for some strange reason, he had.

Besides, Guardian was nosing the clone's pockets, looking for food. He couldn't be _that_ bad.

"Do you need a place in our crew?" Skyler asked him.

Chaos looked at his booted feet. "I'm...I'm pretty useless, Captain. All I'm good for is fighting and killing. I don't think that's what you need."

"I'm traveling with a Zabrak Sith," Skyler softly said. She touched his shoulders. Chaos flinched back. He'd been hit, but Skyler mentally promised him that it would never happen again. He had _knife scars_ all over his arms. He'd been abused. Chaos deserved a better life than the one he'd been given.

"Does it mean anything?" Chaos asked. "I can go berserk. I'm not safe." He seemed to melt into her as she offered him a hug. After that, Ca=hos trailed behind them like a lost puppy as they headed back to the ship. He was in a bad way.

"I'm a Sith," Skyler casually tossed out there. She started walking, taking Chaos back to their ship. Chaos followed. He was obedient and that worried her. Swift was as stubborn as a Lupine donkey. Chaos being obedient made him broken. She just hoped she could give him the help he needed. Guardian whined and walked beside the man. Chaos just seemed **numb**.

Jacen took Chaos' hand. "My big brother Swift won't hurt you. He's a little grumpy, but he's not mean."

"That's what they all say," Chaos softly said. Skyler just wanted to sit him in a chair and cuddle with him until he got better. The clones weren't flesh and blood droids. They were _men_. Men who had been treated badly because the rest of the galaxy thought them to be throw away soldiers.

Chaos walked with his head down. He seemed to be the decent sort, not as bad as some of the others she'd seen. He was gentle, but still a Warrior. This was a man who had been through hell and back. He needed a few good meals and a place to rest his head. Skyler hoped to see him blossom under some TLC. If anyone deserved spoiling, it was a clone.

The clone seemed pathetically grateful for the bread roll she gave him. It was a sweet bread studded with raspberries, drizzled with white chocolate. Jacen and Swift liked sweet food. Chaos wolfed it down and licked his fingers clean. Skyler passed him another roll. Guardian put his paws on the counter and gave her a pleading whine. Jacen tossed him a slice of coffee cake. Guardian snapped it out of the air and looked rather pleased with himself.

"Hey, Skyler! Amayas said it was probably time for us to get our asses in gear!" Maul tromped down through the ship and hacked himself off a chunk of cake. "Who's he?"

"His name is Chaos and Hyde wants to kill him," Skyler reported.

Maul looked at the clone. Chaos swallowed and looked at his boots. The red Zabrak licked off his fingers. "And why does Hyde want to kill you?"

"Because he killed my brother, so I stabbed him and punched him in the face," Chaos numbly said.

"I've lost my brother, too," Maul softly said. Chaos gave Maul puppy eyes. "I...I know your pain." Maul knew far too much pain. Skyler knew why he didn't want to open himself up to her. He'd lost almost everyone he loved. He didn't want to hurt anymore. He didn't want to lose anyone else. Was it always so hard for a Sith to love?


	30. Settling In

Food was always good. Sweet food that gave you a burst of energy was the best. And there was more than enough sweet bread to feed Chaos and then some, even with all of the other pulling off of it. Bur Chaos needed more food that just a few handfuls of sweet bread. He needed _meat_. Clones couldn't subsist very well on nutrient blocks. And that was what he'd been fed in the Army.

"Would you be mad if I got a little extra food?" Chaos softly asked. He licked the food off his fingers, salivating over the thought of decent food.

"Sure." Skyler tapped a hand on her chin. "Just don't feed the dog." Guardian whined at that and put his paws over his eyes. "Swift fed him this morning. And, he's not a dog. Or so Maul says. Maul says he's a wolf and a beggar." Skyler rolled her eyes at that.

That solved that problem. Chaos got a piece of meat from the unit and ignored the click of claws across the floor. "Go on, ya mutt. You got fed already." He went back to getting food. Bantha meat, veggies, cheese. Good food. Hearty food. It's hold Chaos over until he could eat again. He was used to having long periods when he wasn't given any food. That time he and Maverick had been stranded on a planet for a week. They'd gone three days until Chaos started stealing. He could have been reconditioned, but it had already happened six times before. Anymore would have broken him. They already knew he was loyal.

Chaos would eat now while he could.

He carved himself off a small portion. It was enough to kill the worst of the pangs, but not enough so he would throw up. The meat would do him better than anyone else. Chaos almost didn't heat it up. But he did and was rewarded with the best meal he'd ever had in his life. Plus a wolf begging for handouts. Chaos ignored Guardian and went to stating his own hunger.

"What is _he_ doing here?" a new voice snarled.

Chaos slowly turned around after wiping his hand on his sleeve. A scowling trooper, this one broad and muscular, glowered at the clone from the doorway. Chaos swallowed and cowered. "Skyler said I could be here," he softly said. "I...I stabbed Hyde. And I...I saved their lives."

"Plus, Guardian likes him," Jacen piped up. The adults ignored him.

"Does she knew what you can do?" the trooper hissed. Harsh eyes met his and Chaos looked down.

"No," he numbly said.

"If you hurt them, I will make you _beg_ for death," the trooper flatly said. "Skyler saved my life. And Jacen is about the only other person here that I like. So why don't you just take your little suicide trooper _sheb_ and take a long walk out a short airlock?"

"But I'll starve!" Chaos protested. He cringed back, looking at the other clone. The big Alpha Trooper (had to be one) glared at him. Chaos wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to be beaten, no one did. He didn't want this clone to hurt him. Chaos had been hurt more than enough, thank you very much. All he wanted was a soft place to land. "I'm Chaos. Who are you?"

"Swift," the trooper spat. "And you starving is not my problem. I don't want you to hurt my family!"

"I'm not going to hurt them!" Chaos yelped. " ** _Please_** , let me stay! Hyde will kill me!"

"I didn't stab him," Swift shrugged. "You did."

"Hey, Swift?" Maul poked his head in the kitchen. "Just leave him alone. We need bastards bad enough to stab Hyde. He's staying."

"See?" Chaos pleaded. "I stabbed Hyde!" Which hadn't been his best idea ever. He'd been half mad from grief and sorrow. Stabbing Hyde had not been one of his best moves. It wouldn't bring Cinders back to life.  It wouldn't give him Creed, Silver, or Maverick back. It wouldn't bring Dogma back from the dead. All it would do was make Hyde mad.

"And you're a berserker," Swift flatly. He pressed Chaos back. Chaos growled. His hand dropped to his side, fingers going for his dagger. He'd kill Swift if he had too. He'd take Swift apart.

"I am," Chaos spat. He pulled the weapon from its sheath. The knife had two prongs, making it a natural extension of his hands. He could slit Swift's throat before the other man could even blink. Make it quick, make it clean, and get on with his life. Swift was an Alpha and they were destroyed for a reason.

Chaos had been unwanted, too. But that didn't mean anything.

Swift's hazel eyes narrowed. "Put the knife _down_."

"No," Chaos hissed. "What if you try to break my neck?"

"You're a _suicide trooper_ ," Swift growled. He eased back from the suicide trooper, smiling at Chaos. The suicide trooper held the dagger tightly. It was Creed's dagger. This weapon was the last reminder he had of his family. Creed was dead and so was Cinders. Swift would join them soon.

"Kill me in front of Jacen and Maul will rip you apart," Swift finally said. "Maul is a Sith, you _di'kut_."

"If I die, I die," Chaos shrugged. His eyes narrowed into angry slits and he bared his teeth. Despite the fact that he was skinny, Chaos still carried himself like a coiled viper. Both clones were trained to kill.

"I'll never understand bersekers," Swift muttered.

"Good." Chaos lunged at Swift. the knife a blur of silver through the air. Swift jumped back and he parried the blow with a knife of his own. The two men lunged at each other and Chaos saw red.


	31. The Alpha and the Chaos

Swift jumped aside. He drew back his fist and tried to deck Chaos. The other clone snarled. He lunged and sent that knife hurtling towards Swift's head. Swift knocked the dagger aside with his forearm. The two men circled, Chaos' face contorted in rage. His hazel eyes glittered like a man possessed. Swift cursed as he considered his options. Chaos was made the way he was for a reason--to _kill_.

Chaos was a threat. He was created to kill and he was going to hurt some of Swift's family. His hard won family that he'd loved and would die for. And if this little tiff was anything to go by, Chaos wouldn't go down easily. Swift would kill Jacen's voice and he'd kill this ** _berserker_**.

The knife gashed Swift in the shoulder. The Alpha trooper screamed. His own dagger flashed from its sheath, lunging at the berserker's head. Chaos jerked away. His dagger glistened with Swift's blood. The other man jumped aside. Swift came at Chaos with fire blazing in his eyes. The other man tucked and rolled. Swift whipped around and knocked Chaos's knife to the ground with a single smooth, fluid motion.

Chaos dropped back. He bared his teeth. Swift rested back. His breathing was heavy, nervous. He glanced around for Maul. The red wasn't there. But thank the gods that Jacen had gotten the hell outta Dodge. That was good. He didn't want the kid to get hurt. All he had to do was get Chaos on the ground and gash his throat. He'd take care of this problem before someone got hurt.

The blade hooked, bringing Swift down lower. The berserker came at him. Madness glared in Chaos' hazel eyes. The two men circled like raging wolves. Chaos grabbed his weapon. Swift kicked his hand and it dropped again.

"Hey!" Maul yelled. He came running over. "Cut that out!"

Swift hit Chaos upside the head with a pot. He'd grabbed it from the stove and greens slopped over the floor. That was okay, Swift hated greens anyways. Chaos fell to the ground as blood trickled from his head. Sad, broken eyes met his. Swift pinned Chaos quickly and put him in a headlock. The berserker stopped fighting and fell limp. His eyes glazed over and his head went limp. Swift found the sweet spot behind the ears and rubbed it mercilessly.

"What the hell?!" Maul yelled. He grabbed Swift. "What happened?!"

"He went berserk," Swift spat. "You might want to get rid of this ticking time bomb."

The red Zabrak gave Chaos a long look. "You do that to Hyde?"

"So what if I did?" Chaos set his jaw. "Does it matter?"

"He'll kill Jacen." Swift let Chaos up and looked for a mop. Maul cast him a long look. Clones fought like cats and dogs sometimes. They didn't always like each other and Swift was grumpy. And anti-social. He didn't like being forced into things.

"I'm not gonna kill a kid!" Chaos snapped. He didn't struggle as Maul wiped the greens off of his face. He was so slight, though. Maybe he'd eat Swift's helping of greens whenever they ate the damned things. Swift could have killed Chaos, though, and Chaos knew it.

"You're a berserker," Swift shot back. "You'll kill people. It's in your DNA."

"Can we _please_ not start this again?" Maul sighed. "He's not worth is, Swift."

Swift begged to differ. The Alphas had been put down because the Jedi had feared them. They wouldn't have hurt the Jedi. All the Alphas had wanted was their freedom. But Mace overruled Shaak Ti and got the Jedi to either sell or destroy every last Alpha trooper. He was the only one he knew remained. All because he was too much of a coward to fight the Jedi and save his brothers. He'd ran _away_. The assassins and the berserkers were the Jedi-killers.

Alpha Troopers **weren't**.

He didn't want to lose his new family. Swift knew all about losing family through cowardice and negligence. He wasn't letting this berserker kill the first people that had been kind to him in years. Skyler wasn't cruel to him. Maul cuddled with him when he needed it. And Jacen was there when the others couldn't be. The dog was nice, too.

"They killed the wrong batch of troopers," Swift numbly said. "It should have been _him_! Him and that animal they called Creed! _They_ were the Jedi-killers! _Not my brothers_!"

Maul grabbed Swift in a hug. The big Zabrak seemed to know what would kill him or what would make him better. Not all of his Masters were kind. Some punishments had left him scared and bleeding in the corner. Swift had _watched_ as they destroyed some of his brothers and sold the rest. He'd been forced to toss his dead brothers into the fertilizer barge and beaten when he dared mourn them. He'd been too much of a coward to steal a ship and run away. Every stripe his bare shoulder took, every time he was forced to submit and blow his Master was a payment for all of the brothers he'd killed.

He couldn't save his brothers. He didn't deserve to be saved, but maul saw something in him. Something more valuable than his body.

"I don't want to lose you," Swift choked out.

"You won't," Maul assured him. He glanced over to Chaos. Swift looked away as the berserker saw him be weak. "And Chaos won't kill anyone. Jacen has the Force."

The Force had never saved anyone, but Swift thought it was a nice try. Chaos joined the hug after a few minutes and they held each other until the tears went away."


	32. The Amulet

The Amulet felt cold and creepy around his neck. Maul hated the thing, mostly because it felt _wrong_. Like it wasn't a Sith artifact. It felt like it was cold, slippery, and wet. And Maul didn't like _cold_ , _slimy_ , and _wet_. It was like tendrils of slime were streaking their way down his back. But he wasn't hurting anymore, so that was good. It also put him in a much better mood for dealing with too damaged, battered clones.

Chaos had the decency to look at his boots. "Creed...he never told me that."

"Creed never told you a lot of things," Swift hissed. He drew away from Maul and the Zabrak let him. You couldn't force Swift into anything. He'd been a slave for too long and relished making you wait on his decision. That was why Maul made him make up his mind **before** they went into a cantina. Otherwise, the choices could literally take Swift an hour. Until Maul got pissed and picked _for_ him.

"Let's settle on doing something _constructive_ ," Maul muttered. "And I'm not kicking Chaos out. We can carry this to the hold and unpack those shipping crates we picked up. Swift, don't piss him off and start a fight. Chaos, don't push him too it. Are we good now?" Maul needed to find a place to sit down. Dealing with one clingy clone always went better on the sofa. It was probably two clingy clones from the way Chaos was acting. Skyler was trying to get Jacen in the bath with mixed success. Speaking of, Chaos looked (and smelled!) pretty bad.

"Do you guys not _bathe_?" Maul finally asked, giving the dirty clone a look. Yes, he was a prude about keeping clean. It came from being on Lothe Minor for a decade. Chaos could deal with it.

"It was an open, communal shower," Chaos said in a numb tone. "I have a slave brand."

Maul helped a shaky Swift to the couch. "Do you have lice? Swift had lice." Swift gave him a dirty look, but snuggled close. Maul rolled his eyes. He was warm, he knew. And he wasn't going to begrudge the damaged clone his solace.

"Probably," the berserker shrugged. "Half the barracks did. The guy I shared a bunk with did. And...and he had a brand, too. We decided to use a hose if it came to us getting sick. Cinders said that slavers had done worst things." Maul could sense something there, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to knock it. He'd slept with a few men in his time. Some by choice, most not. That was why he was trying women for once. "I didn't want to go back to Hyde."

"Just go get a bath," Maul said. "There's delousing shampoo under the sink. It smells terrible, but it'll kill the little buggers."

"Probably by the smell alone," Swift groused. Maul laughed and settled down beside him. He was hairless, except for his eyelashes. And even those were so fine they were nearly invisible. Zabraks made humans look like hairy Wookies. The others had a lot of hair and Maul didn't want lice to colonize his _Scimitar_. Skyler had made Swift use that stuff. He was going to do the same for Chaos. Chaos also stunk. That shower was sounding better all the time. Swift, at least, had been clean. Chaos was _filthy_.

Swift smirked. He'd wedged himself Maul and the armrest. It was a classic Swift move. "Ya know, at least I bathe. And I have a slave brand, too."

"You d-don't understand," Chaos stammered. "These scars...I don't cut...but they...they opened my arms...and...and...drank my...my blood..."

Which sounded as creepy as hell, but Maul wasn't going to press him before he was ready. Chaos needed time to heal. Maul had actually been thinking about heading to Liria for some time now. The Shadow Master owed him that much. He'd grabbed what was probably a Shadow Knight artifact. That, or it was Sith'arii.  If it was Sith'arii, then Maul was dumping it down the nearest black hole. Those things were terrifying. Not even the Jedi messed with Sith'arii artifacts. Sidious had tried playing with the Sapphire Eye. That...didn't go well and Maul had finally used it for blaster target practice. He tossed the shards in a canal. For all Maul knew, that little bundle of madness was driving the rats insane.

"Those people were evil." Maul closed his eyes, trying to get his thoughts together. Blood rituals had been outlawed by the Shadow Knights. Hyde had probably brought them back for the quick power boost. Maul wondered why no one had killed that bastard yet.

Chaos sat beside Maul. The Zabrak groaned and moved him back. Chaos' hair was _moving_. "What?"

"Just go take a shower," Swift sighed. He wiggled into Maul's body. The Zabrak paused and ran his hands through Swift's hair and rubbed the sweet spot behind his ear. The clone went limp quickly. He liked being held better, but Maul wasn't in the mood.

Chaos muttered something nasty under his breath, but Maul let it slide. He didn't need to press Chaos until he wasn't so wound up. The clone probably hadn't wanted to be made a berserker. He'd been tortured, most probably, and there was very little Maul could do but sit and try to make him get better. And get him a shower and some meat to eat. But the shower first.

He also had the Amulet of Kaan. Maul, though, wasn't Sidious. He wasn't keeping that thing any longer than he had to. After that, it was going to be _Azira Lor_ 's problem.


	33. It's All Over

"What do you _mean_ , they escaped?" Kallus hissed. Rage flashed in his red rimmed eyes as he glared at the Acolyte. Hyde stood beside the Sith, his gaze impassive. The Agent knew he was easily the most powerful man in the room.

"They left Corellia, my Lord," the Acolyte shrugged. "Maul is a wild card."

Kallus rubbed the bridge of his node These _idiots_! Every. Single. Last. One. Of them! "Did you try to trace them on other planets, per chance? Or did you let them go to Liria?!"

The clones were far better than any idiots that the Empire could dredge up. The clones, at least, didn't need explicit instructions for everything. They had enough of a mind of their own to get the job done right the _first time_. The Kaminoans had known what they were doing. Kallus just wished that the troopers had half the wits that a pack of _clones_ had.

"We did scan for ships matching the _Scimitar_ 's profile in all known public docks," Hyde purred. The Acolyte rolled his eyes, but let Hyde talk. What harm would it do him? For a failed Sith Lord, Kallus had quite a bit of power. "Couldn't find her. They lit out."

"Of _course_ they did," Kallus groaned. Why couldn't he get competent help? Kallus rubbed his forehead, silently cursing the job on Lothal that kept him locked up here. If he was able to go out and roam the galaxy like he used too... That little band of rebels would have been ancient history by then. Darth Maul was no match for the Empire. He never had been.

"We think he did go to Liria," the Falleen Acolyte replied. THe man watched him with cool golden eyes. Kallus swore and tried to keep calm.

"Liria. Isn't that just _peachy_?" Kallus groaned. Why was this turning into an even _greater_ clusterfrak than it already was? But it did make sense. Liria was a Warded planet and Warded planets couldn't be found by the Empire. And Maul was looking to hide.

Hyde watched as the Acolyte calmly left. "A pity, that. You just can't get good help any more."

"You knew this would happen," Kallus flatly said. "You _knew_."

"You must have gotten that far in your training," Hyde shrugged. Kallus gritted his teeth. "Even you know that the future is merely a net of shifting webs. It's all about possibility--not inevitability." Hyde smiled coldly and Kallus wondered just how much power one man could wield. "There is great power in duality, Jason."

"Don't call me that!" Kallus hissed. He almost hit Hyde with the Force. _Almost_. But he stopped shirt when he saw the cold smile on Hyde's face.

"I do have a plan to trap them." Hyde carried on as if nothing had happened. And, to him, maybe it hadn't. Who knew what the Knights of Ren saw in the future beside themselves. And Kallus hadn't done much training before his Master had just...ended it. Kallus was no fool and ran away before he could get killed. Or sent on a suicide mission.

"Oh?" Kallus sneered. His disdain and hatred of the Knights of Ren ran core deep.

"I have the brothers of the clone Chaos locked up in a Kaminoan facility," Hyde replied. "You can rest assured that Chaos will be very...docile...and eager to further our cause to keep those worthless meat bags alive."

Kallus nodded and steepled his fingers. Hyde, for once, was making sense. Yet instinct told the failed Sith that Hyde never did anything for free. The man was simply personified as a snake in the grass. He was dangerous...cunning...and _mad_.

Yet Kallus still drew the shining silver knife across his palm and offered Hyde his blood to drink. This was no mere ritual designed for a quick transfusion of power. Not the crude way that the Knights of Ren knew blood. No, this was something far older and darker that went to the depths of the Dark Force. Kallus was binding Hyde to him when it looked like he was offering the man power. He was going to bite the snake before the snake bit him.

The Ren Master drank deep and Kallus' will became his own.


End file.
